Roommates
by SaiWrites
Summary: Fairy tail Modern!AU in which Gajeel moves away from his old home, in the hopes to continue schooling, or so he says. He meets his roommate, Laxus, who he spends time with trying to adjust to this new setting. How will Gajeel spend his time with Laxus? It's not exactly a fun time. Still, the company is appreciated. (Laxus x Gajeel/Laxeel fanfic)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: sorry I haven't uploaded in quite some time. Before Christmas I had no inspiration, and now that I have a new laptop without Word, I had to use Google Drive, which I did not think to use these past months because mun is stoopid. **

**Also, I HAVE been trying to figure out my last fanfic, Wake Up, but I have not come to conclusions. I do want to finish it though. So sorry for the wait!**

**I came up with an idea for a oneshot but it turned into this Modern!AU Laxeel fanfic, so please enjoy, no hate, please and thank you! Reviews are nice!**

* * *

Gajeel looked up at his roommate. He was tall, and muscular. There was a scar over his right eyes and a look of annoyance on his grimy, dirt covered face. His clothes were simple, and also dirty, and he smelled like oil. But why did he look so annoyed? Realizing that Gajeel had been standing there gazing at the man for over a minute, he choked out a fake laugh and greeted himself.

"Um...I think you're-?"

"Laxus."

"R-right…" Gajeel's words stuck in his throat, feeling as if it would explode, why was he acting this way? Was he really gonna let a dirty asshole like this guy intimidate him? Though, he DID look like he could take his head right now and crumble it right in his hands, crumble his already exploding head in to tiny, weak, small pieces. He thought it was about time he told Laxus his name.

"M-my name's Gajeel," after hesitating, he reach his hand out towards his new roommate, who left him hanging, walking back into the apartment. Gajeel awkwardly clasped the open hand with his other free hand, later grabbing his luggage and making his way through the apartment. Laxus was repairing the sink, he'd figured since rusty pipes lay on the floor besides an open, dirty, cabinet. Before asking, Laxus glared back at him.

"Shoes off."

Without complaint, Gajeel immediately removed his shoes. Laxus took Gajeel's bags and motioned to follow him. The two walked to an empty bedroom in the apartment, only inhabited by a bed, and a frozen alarm clock on the floor, still plugged into the outlet, but flashing 12:00 over and over. It looked sad, the room. It would have to do, for now, Gajeel was afraid of objecting. Laxus dropped his bags and headed back to work on the sink, closing the door behind him. Soon, there was a bright red color on Gajeel's face, as he covered it with his hands and dropped to the floor, relieved that he was alone again.

He had never felt so much fear in such a little amount of time. Back before he'd dropped out of school, he was the kid that people were afraid of, he was that really tall kid that everyone was afraid to get into trouble with, the kid that people looked up to because he was_ just that strong. _Standing up and wiping his face, he moved his luggage to his bed and moved the poorly folded clothes to the closet. In it, a small crack on the wall and a new pack of 20 hangers. Either Laxus was nice enough to get him hangers, or they'd been sitting there forever. He sighed and grabbed the pack, tearing off the wrapper. The hangers fell to the floor, making a loud clatter as they landed.

He groaned and dropped his clothes on the hardwood floor. Gajeel grabbed the hangers and hung them on the bar in the closet, then removing one at a time to hang his clothes. Once he started putting his clothes on the hanger, they would still slip off the bar and fall to the floor, along with the hanger sometimes, as he tried to do this as quick as possible without noise.

Clearly that was not working.

Eventually, Gajeel dropped the rest of his clothes to the floor, no longer caring about whether or not they fall off the hanger. He spun around to meet with his intimidating roommate.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked. Gajeel jumped and tried to put words together.

"I-I was just...I'm…" clearly today was not a very good day for him. Laxus sighed and pushed him aside, picking up the clothes from the closet floor. He held up a blue t-shirt, which was stained and wrinkled. He cringed, and turned back around to Gajeel, holding up the shirt, "You really gonna leave your clothes like this?"

Gajeel pouted, "Well they are _MY_ clothes...why?"

"Because they look as though you just pulled this," he held up a green, stained, old band shirt that was barely even legible as to what band it even was, "...out of the trash. Don't tell me those are your_ best_ clothes."

Laxus pointed to Gajeel's attire, which was another band shirt covered by a black jacket, which appeared to have hair, possibly cat hair all over it. His jeans were torn at the knees and one could easily see the white thermal leggings, at least they should be white, however at the knees they look brown, as if he'd tripped and fallen over 50 times just getting here. "Don't make fun of my clothes!" Gajeel covered as much as he could with his arms, "I don't have that much money you know...!"

Chuckling, Laxus took his clothes out of the room. "Who knew he had other emotions…" Gajeel said under his breath before following him out the room.

Laxus closed the door and turned on the washing machine. Soon, Gajeel's clothes were drenched in water. Gajeel stared at the slinning colors within the washing machine, and Laxus stared at Gajeel, amused, "What the hell are you so amazed by?"

"Ah-what? I'm not "amazed," I'm just…"

"Whatever man," Laxus grabbed the back of his roommate's jacket, pulling it off and hanging it on the hook. "Listen, I'll stay down here and finish with your clothes, just go ahead and unpack or something."

"I already did."

The room grew silent for a bit. Laxus slowly looked up and down at Gajeel. Was this guy serious? "What do you mean?"

"...That's all I bought," Gajeel shrugged. Unwilling to ask, Laxus handed him 20 jewels.

"Take that and buy yourself some lunch. I have a friend coming over to help with the sink, and he doesn't like new people...no offense."

"N-none taken." Gajeel said before making his leave. As he left the laundromat he felt himself breathe better again. It reeked of sour clothes people left unattended. Not to mention the dust and lint lingering in the air. The green, chipped walls made the room look no better, as well as the concrete floors, with more chipped red paint as well as old pieces of tile, which used to stretch across the floor from the lobby of the apartment building, but for some reason came off.

* * *

It was cloudy out, as if it were about to rain. Not cold, but unfortunately, Gajeel had no umbrella. It had been raining for weeks without hint of blue sky or bare sunlight, as this town had gone through a drought the past summer _and _fall. Winter had almost no snow, and when there was, it would melt, immediately the next day. Gajeel was warned about the crazy weather that would take place before he'd moved.

Back at his old home, the weather was so unbelievably predictable. So predictable, in fact, that one could tell weather by scent-and not just the scent of rain. Though those with such a talent came in few, but Gajeel was one of them. He was the special kid in elementary that could smell anything and everything, everywhere, and it grew better after puberty. He could tell when and who was behind him and with what, he could tell in a drink was drugged, He could tell if his father was drunk (something he was never pleased with), and most importantly, the weather. Here, however, he could hardly smell the rain.

Things were different. But he hoped that things were changing for the better as well. He would finally get away from his father. He could be on his own and make his life the way he wanted it to be...but first he'd have to figure out just what he was doing. He needed money. especially now that he planned on going to school again.

He stopped walking through the brisk winds at a burger restaurant. It was colorful, yet the colors were pale and grey. As grey as it was, it reeked of fresh paint, and crowded with people and hungry children. The framed poster outside the building showed a burger with lettuce and cheese, beside a small bag of fries. Gajeel became twice as hungry as before, plus, it started to rain, so he entered the building.

A burger with cheese and bacon, a ten piece chicken nugget packed in a pale blue paper container, large fries, and a medium soda. 10 jewels. Did anyone blame him for all that food for himself? No, there were no questions. Gajeel was starved, he deserved it. He sat by the window and looked outside. Rain. As expected. He sighed and dipped a fry into ketchup, observing the texture. Crispy and salty. His mouth watered, and he finally stuffed the fry along with four others into his mouth. He ate a piece of the burger. It was well done, with plenty of bacon, and evenly placed yellow cheese with a nice amount of ketchup. The pickles were removed. He liked his pickles cold, and did not enjoy the texture of a warm pickle slice. Still, the burger was excellent. The nuggets were a no brainer. Also crispy, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, not too wet and not too dry. He dipped one at a time in barbecue sauce and enjoyed every last bite. Though, the rain didn't set the mood very well. Gajeel felt gloomy. There was no real reason, but he did.

"You don't eat the pickles?"

Gajeel looked up from his trance at a man with an interesting hairdo and a funky tattoo on his face. The man above him took the pickle slices and ate them himself. Annoyed, Gajeel looked back out the window. "I could have licked those."

"You think I care?" the man laughed, sitting with him, "I'm Bixlow."

Bixlow reached his hand out for Gajeel's, who in return took his hand. "I was just at a friend's house," he began, relaxing in his seat, much to Gajeel's dismay, "Had to help fix a sink with new pipes. He got a new roommate today."

Gajeel looked up at Bixlow. "Wait..."

"He told me this guy was a music lover with weird piercings and I assumed it was you." He pointed to Gajeel, smiling, "Right?...If I'm wrong you'd probably want those pickles back, right?"

"Ah-no, no, you're right...that's me." Gajeel said, blushing. He concluded finally that he was not good with conversation anymore.

"Hah, good, good!" Bixlow cheerfully laughed, "So, what brings you here, kid?"

"I-I was-wait, I'm 21!"

"Are you? You look old, but like, 18 and stressed," Bixlow mocked.

"I _am _21...I'm going back to school for a while, but I don't know how...there's like, three colleges here, right?"

"Four, and you can go to online college for free. Try again."

"...What?" Gajeel sunk down in his seat, confused. Bixlow grinned, "You're from that town with decent weather, huh? You're nose kid from elementary school."

Gajeel froze in his seat, surprised, "'I've never...met you."

"Well no shit. I only talked to, what, four people, and you weren't one of them. Remember the strauss siblings?"

"...I do…" Gajeel sat back up in his chair, "And the 100% student...uh…"

"Levy? I'm not sure where she'd gone off to...though, there were rumors going around after high school that she went to college overseas. And remember that weird kid-!"

"Natsu. He's not hard to forget." Gajeel said, remembering the pain Natsu caused to his head. Bixlow looked at him funny. "What?"

"Gajeel...where did you...go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you left our school. People were saying that you transferred back to your old school, but that was shut down, right? Where did you go?"

He froze up again. "I...uh...I just left."

"For what?"

There was no escaping this from this point, "I dropped out," he whispered.

"...You dropped out?" Bixlow whispered as well. He sounded saddened. Gajeel figured he would be as disappointed as he was himself. "I did," he looked off to the side, "I don't...really…"

* * *

The rain proceeded to pour, and soon made a thunderstorm. Gajeel stood under Bixlow's large...purple umbrella. It was light purple with white frills and polka dots. This didn't suit a guy like Bixlow. when he noticed Gajeel looking at the pattern of his umbrella, he laughed, "You like?"

"It...uh…"

"Chillax, dude, I know, It's my girlfriend's. Don't get distracted, we're crossing the street." They moved across the slippery street slowly, and made their way back to the apartment.

"Does this belong to you, good fellow?" Bixlow joked, pushing Gajeel towards him.

"Is this yours?" Laxus responded, pushing a smaller, white haired girl towards his friend. She turned around and lunged her small armed back at him, "Hey, that's rude!"

"Now, now, lovely," Bixlow said, cupping her chin and kissing her cheek, "don't get too upset or you'll be grumpy the rest of the day, and who wants a grumpy Lissy?"

"It's Lisanna you...I'm starving, Bixy."

"Try again, sweetheart, it's Bixlow," Bixlow teased, patting her head and waving his friend goodbye, "See you around, kid!"

"I'm Gajeel, and I'm 21, dammit!" Gajeel yelled before Bixlow closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Laxus finished mopping the hardwood floors and washing dishes. He set out carrots and potatoes in front of a bot with boiling water. The lid bounced with the boiling water, making clanking noises on the pot, annoying Laxus. He glared at it. It blissfully made the sound, from a light clank to a heavy, loud slam on the pot, as if something had exploded.

The lid was too big.

He opened up the pot to reveal the yellow boiling water and vegetable oil, and added many small blocks of beef. Laxus placed the lid back on the pot and proceeded to dice the carrots. The lid began shaking again.

Just get over it, Laxus, it's not always going to be quiet. Especially with his new roommate.

Gajeel, though, has been pretty quiet. His first two nights at the apartment went well. There was no commotion, no real problems. He slept on the couch during the day and in his room at night. He has no job and absolutely nothing to do. Laxus didn't question, still. He was able to pay for as much he and Gajeel needed, really.

He worked at a bar down the street from the apartment building. From Mondays through Fridays, from 3 in the morning to 11 at night. the bar was always packed, no matter what time or what day. On weekends, he shows up with Bixlow, and he brings his lover, Lisanna, to mock his co workers as they drink and shout, later spending the night at Laxus' apartment because they're too drunk to go anywhere else. Every Saturday at 8 at night. Today was Saturday.

Gajeel woke up to the smell of beef, and looked up to see Laxus sitting on the counter beside the stove, resting his head on the cabinets behind him. He sighed and looked at his roommate, resting on the couch in a rather sloppy fashion. his right leg lay off the couch along with his head, which hung upside down. There was dry drool across his face. "What the hell are you looking at?" he groaned. Laxus smirked.

"You're the one looking at me." He said before getting off the counter and walking towards Gajeel. He lifted him up by the neck and wiped the dry drool off of his face, "You're such a mess, I swear."

He pouted when Laxus wiped his face off, "_Must_ you baby me?"

"Hey. I'm not living with a dirty roommate."

"...says you," Gajeel said under his breath, not too quiet, however.

"What was that, kid?"

"What?" He retorted. Gajeel realized what he'd just said. He was not supposed to say that. At all. Laxus forced him to stand up, making Gajeel jump back. He blushed and stood in place while Laxus glared down at him, "Repeat that."

"I didn't say anything."

"...Gajeel, I swear to god, if you go through my room again I am going to kick you out in the streets."

That was a risk he refused to take. Relieved to see that Laxus had left the room, he threw himself back onto the couch. He held in the burst of laughter at the thought that Laxus had kept magazines of Bixlow's girlfriend's sister, tucked under his bed-at least they were. It was weird, still; those three siblings went to his school once. the youngest is in a relationship with that Bixlow guy, and the oldest is a model for bathing suits. He wondered where he other one was.

His thoughts were cut off when Laxus snapped his fingers in his face. "Eat before I leave, already."

"You're leaving?" Gajeel asked, standing up once again. He headed for the kitchen where Laxus had already set his food. Stew, with a side of corn and broccoli. This look like one hell of a meal-why was he babying him!? It became clear that he'd fucked up his first impression the other day, and now Laxus believed that he couldn't take care of himself. His father would have agreed, but Gajeel and his father always thought the opposite, mostly just to spite each other. "You...I could have done this myself."

"Trust me, I'm not letting you make a mess without cleaning it up, I know that's what will happen." Laxus sat down in front of him on the small, white table in the kitchen. Gajeel sighed, not wanting to argue, and sat.

They proceeded to eat in awkward silence. Gajeel wanted to speak, but he expected a "don't speak with your mouth full" or some mom shit like that. Still, he wanted to say something. Soon, Laxus looked up at him, expecting him to speak. He raised an eyebrow, initiating him to "go on."

"Uh...where are you going?"

"Ah…" Laxus kept his eyes locked on Gajeel's, relieved that he finally spoke and broke the silence, "Just that bar down the street...with Bixlow and some...others. Why? Did you want to go?"

"...no." Gajeel looked away, blushing. Why the hell did he say no? I think it's best if he stayed at home. "I want to-I think I need a...alone...time."

Laxus kept his eyebrow raised. Gajeel was clearly unsure of himself. He smiled, "Alright, you enjoy yourself here then," He stood up and took his plate to the sink, "When you're done with that, put that in the sink and wash it off." With that, Laxus grabbed his jacket and went for his keys.

"Gajeel."

"Huh?" Gajeel jumped up and looked at him. His face was still red. Laxus couldn't hold the grin.

"As- just...If you ever want to go out somewhere, just tell me, I know you're new and all," he sighed, scratching his head, "Just tell me."

Laxus left Gajeel speechless. He was so…._INTIMIDATING_...that's what he wanted to call it. Gajeel didn't know what to say at this point. He was being so nice, which was a new feeling, since his father wasn't exactly as nice as Laxus was being. So far Laxus washed his clothes, bought him food, made him food, and wiped drool from his face.

What an asshole.

* * *

Laxus open the door to the apartment only to hear a loud, gurgling sound. The stench wafted all around the room from the bathroom. It was clear what was going on.

"Holy shit," Laxus opened the door to find Gajeel, hanging his head in the toilet and holding his neck lightly with one hand. The other hand was trembling beside him. Laxus lifted his thick long locks and moved them away from his face. After a bit, He'd finished.

"What the hell was that?" Laxus asked, assuming it might have been the food. He moved Gajeel against the bathroom wall and leaned his face off with a towel. As he stood up to get one, he noticed an empty pill bottle sitting in the sink. He picked it up; there was no label, it was torn off. It wasn't his, he wasn't taking any pills. Was Gajeel?

"Gajeel."

He didn't answer. He turned away.

"Gajeel, what is this?"

…

Laxus knelt down beside him, resting his back on the cold, tile wall. He moved Gajeel's hair from his face, and showed him the empty medicine bottle, "What is this, Gajeel?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Gajeel-"

"_I really don't want to talk about it._"

Convinced that Gajeel was definitely not going to talk, he sighed, standing up and throwing away the bottle. Gajeel curled up into a ball, still leaning against the wall, waiting for Laxus to come back. Was he going to call the police? He figured he shouldn't have done that on the third night, but…

Laxus came back and pulled Gajeel out of the bathroom and into his room. "You can't just do shit like that, okay?" Gajeel only nodded, falling on the bed and turning off the small lamp beside his bed. This room was depressing. Laxus considered doing stuff with it, but then he let Gajeel move in. Did he regret letting him move in? Not really...the kid does drugs. At least, it looks like he does drugs. Laxus walked back into the bathroom to clean up the mess Gajeel made, and found a small pill beside the toilet. It was green and orange, and small enough to swallow with ease. What the fuck was this guy doing with this? What is this?

It's an antidepressant. And Gajeel had to have taken almost half the pills for him to start throwing up, he knew that. But the whole bottle? Impossible. Either these aren't his, or he's done this before.

Laxus leaned on the sink and sighed, "Unbelievable…"

He didn't want to hate Gajeel. He didn't want to be mad at him, but he was. How dare he come into his home with a shitty problem like this? How dare he do drugs in his home? Though, is he depressed? Does he feel like the medicine doesn't work? He's twenty one, he should know better than...no, that's not true. Laxus threw the pill down the sink drain and left the bathroom for air freshener.

* * *

The first thing Laxus did was make sure Gajeel was okay. It was Sunday, and his friends got a really back hangover from last night, of course. Gajeel fluttered his eyes open and wiped them, only to encounter Laxus' face, along with the smell of food from the kitchen. Laxus asked again if he was alright. "Yeah," he managed to get out before sitting up.

"Good," Laxus said, standing, "I'm going out and you're coming with, my friends are sick and I need your help."

This wasn't a question, it was more a demand, but Gajeel didn't retort, instead he nodded. Honestly, he really needed to get out of the house…and he didn't want to be alone again. He got out of bed and sleepily fixed the sheets.

It was cloudy again. Laxus bought his umbrella just in case it would rain. Gajeel stood right behind Laxus, and Laxus looked back to make sure he was there. Gajeel still looked emotionless, and Laxus felt so much concern, even though this was only his fourth day knowing him. After three blocks, they'd reached the street of Bixlow's residence. The houses were all lined up together, and outside each one were wilted gardens, many of them looked as though their owner's had given up on sunlight completely, and stripped their garden bare. They approached the house and Laxus knocked on the door.

"I heard someone needs an unlicensed fucking doctor."

"Shut the fuck up!" Someone, undoubtedly Buxlow, yelled from behind the door. Laxus laughed.

Bixlow opened the door. His hair drooped and he was holding his stomach. "I feel like shit, how are ya?"

"It smells worse in here then at my place," Laxus muttered, "So, why am I here?"

"BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE SHIT YOU ASSHOLE...I need attention."

"D'aww, baby needs attention?" Laxus teased, "Gajeel, go ahead and sit down, just be careful. You can take your shoes off."

Gajeel took his offer, more of a demand, and sat, removing his sneakers. Laxus and Bixlow headed upstairs for Lisanna. They could hear her groaning from the living room. She rested in a queen sized bed, on the left right side by the wall. Bixlow slept on the left side. The sheets were messy and the scent of stomach acid tainted the air in the room. Laxus immediately covered his nose and opened the window. "Your puke smells like fucking ass," Laxus said through his hand covering his mouth. He refuse to breathe that in, "I'm not cleaning up puke again."

"What do you mean again?" Bixlow walked towards the window, beside Laxus, "You threw up?"

Laxus sighed, "No, Gajeel did. He...Well, it looks like he' been taking antidepressants and he took a lot of the bottle. He was throwing up when I got back home last night."

"Oi, oi, what's that kid doing with antidepressants?"

"You said he went to school with you guys, right?"

"Yeah," Bixlow responded as he climbed into bed and sat beside Lisanna, resting a hand on her head, "So did Lisy."

"It's Lisanna…" She uttered out through her teeth.

"You remember nose kid, right?"

"...THAT kid?" Laxus remembered that kid. He was a delinquent; bat at school, bad at manners, bad at giving a fuck for anything, really. "I heard rumors about him dropping out of high school right after I'd left...that kid is Gajeel?"

"Well he's not that hard to forget," Bixlow laughed, "Every feature on his face is the same as it was before he left-but now there are piercings all over it. Talk about style..."

"He has NO style. Why'd the kid drop out anyway?"

"I don't know why...It was sudden then, and he didn't tell me when I asked a few days ago, when we met up at...that burger place? He didn't really say much about it, but he said he wanted to go back to school."

Laxus frowned, "You didn't believe him, did you?" He asked.

"Hell no! Somehow...I could tell that something was up. He didn't look very happy when we met."

"Which could explain the pills." Laxus interrupted, "but why would he drop out of school? He wasn't home schooled?"

"He must've been, but he didn't tell me," Bixlow said before climbing out of the bed.

"Family issues?"

"I-I've never seen his dad before, now that I think about it."

"Hang on." Laxus left the room and headed downstairs to Gajeel. "Gajeel, you're Nose kid?"

Gajeel jumped upon hearing the name, "...what do you know about that?"

"I was a senior the year before you left, but we never met...Gajeel, you dropped out of high school?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Gajeel said, annoyed.

"Well I do." Laxus sat next to Gajeel on the couch. Gajeel looked away from him, at everything else in the living room. The walls were a bright green color, with photos of Bixlow and Lisanna hanging around. In front of them, a glass coffee table with more photos of Bixlow and Lisanna, along with an empty mug, which appeared to have held tea. The television was in front of them, which was large and covered up a lot of the wall. Laxus had a TV like that, but he rarely watched it, as far as Gajeel knew. Above him was a white ceiling fan with dust sitting on top of the blades. It clearly hadn't been turned on in a while, what with the cold air.

The place was kept quite tidy, what with coats and hats falling out of the closet and sneakers lying around the floor. Still, Laxus' place was much cleaner. In fact, Since he'd gotten there, Laxus hadn't left a single spot around the house. He must like to keep things organized. Gajeel didn't realize that he was drifting in his own thoughts until Laxus snapped his fingers in his face. "Hey, Gajeel!"

"I-I said I don't want to fucking talk about it!"Gajeel stood up and ran upstairs, soon chased by Laxus, and ended up locking himself in a small bathroom. He sat in the tub and closed the shower curtains. They were moldless and the tub was spotless and dry. The green floor tiles were covered by a greener rug. There was a theme going on. That makes for two clean houses that he's ever been in in his whole life, and he had no idea how to take these situations in. Especially this one.

"Gajeel! Open the door!"

"Argh, SHUT UP some of us have HEADACHES."

"Bixlow…"

"Sorry."

"I'm not coming out," Gajeel groaned.

"Gajeel-"

"I SAID I'M NOT FUCKING COMING OUT"

"Agh holy shit GUYS-"

"FUCK OFF!" Gajeel screamed as he held his head, curling up into a ball. He didn't like this, he didn't want to be yelled at, not like this, not again. He took deep, hoarse breaths, until Laxus managed to pick the lock and get in. He pulled the curtains open and Gajeel sprung up, trying to escape, only to end up being cornered. Laxus grabbed Gajeel's arms and held him against the wall. Gajeel blushed, slipping off the tiles on the wall and eventually sitting back down, in a new corner of the tub. He stayed still, eyes staring at Laxus, lips quivering.

"Stop."

The house was silent. Soon there were muffle, soft voiced from the other room, likely Bixlow and Lisanna. Soft giggling and sweet talking, groaning as their stomach aches took over the blissful moment of peace. Laxus and Gajeel were still frozen in place.

"Please."

Laxus let go. Gajeel relaxed back onto the wall as Laxus stood up, sitting on the edge of the tub and sighing. He held his head, looking up at Gajeel from time to time as he fixed his legs to sit in the ball position once again. They were silent for quite some time. They could hear the giggles coming from the bedroom again. Cheesy flirting and light touching, along with moans due to their stomach still affected by the alcohol. Later, Bixlow walked in, his t-shirt now off. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Laxus responded gruffly, still keeping his eyes on Gajeel. Bixlow sat beside Laxus and put his feet in front of Gajeels. He rested his bare feet lightly on top of Gajeel's, which were still wearing socks, until Gajeel put his feet on top of Bixlow's. He smiled, switching from top to bottom over and over until Gajeel kicked his leg.

"Ow! Hey that's not fair, kid!"

"I'm still twenty one…!"

"Well maybe on your birthday you turn back to twelve."

"I ain't gonna be twelve again, asshole."

"HARSH words, Gajeel, must you use such vulgar language?"

Laxus couldn't help but smile as Bixlow pulled Gajeel up, groaning as it affected his stomach. They smiled at each other while Bixlow pulled Gajeel out of the bathroom, followed by Laxus, into the bedroom to greet Lisanna.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Laxus stood at the door, staring at a package that had been sitting at the hallway for some time. It was addressed to here, but he didn't order it. That's right, of course, he has a roommate. He lifted the box and walked inside his apartment, only to see Gajeel sleeping on the couch beside an empty pizza box and in front of a loud TV. He cringed at the mess, along with the pizza box and sauce all over the floor. Laxus held his hand to his head sighing as he put down the box and turned off the TV. "It's too late at night for this."

"No, wait."

Laxus turned around to see the figure on the floor had changed positions. Gajeel was squirming, speaking in his sleep, "Fu...fucking st-_stop_ that's...mine…"

_Unbelievable. _

He lifted him up and carried him off to his bedroom, resting him on the bed and tossing the blanket over him. Laxus has done this numerously. Gajeel had been here for one week. He still has no job, no sense in tidiness and still can't wash his own clothes. Why the hell was Laxus _not_ bothered by this? Then again he really didn't want Gajeel to be paying for all this stuff and for educa-...no. He's not here for school.

He had to have ran away.

But from what? What caused him to leave school? Why isn't he talking to anyone about this?...He shouldn't pressure him. He really shouldn't bother him about it, but somehow, Laxus knew that this was hurting Gajeel, somehow. Still, this was not the time to ask him personal questions, it's only been one week with him. It's Thursday morning, it is almost 1 in the morning. It has been one week. This is not the time.

He moaned.

"Wait."

Laxus' face flushed red. He slowly turned around to see Gajeel latch on to one of the pillows on his bed. "Don't...go." He quietly walked over to Gajeel and reached a hand out to his cheek. He caressed it, easing whatever pain and irritation Gajeel was going through, ever so softly, gently so that he would not wake up. Laxus' blush faded as he watched Gajeel relax and stop talking, sleeping soundly, lightly snoring. With that, he turned out the light.

He contemplated getting him more medicine. He felt that it could help Gajeel, and help him a lot, but Laxus just...couldn't trust him. He could stash it away and give Gajeel the necessary amount at a time. Still, he had a keen nose; he could find the bottle easily. What the hell was he going to do at this point? Just remember, it has only been one week, you barely know him, you _barely _know him.

He wanted to _know_ him

* * *

Gajeel woke up four hours later. It was 5 am and he was exhausted, but he didn't go back to sleep. He reached up and touched his cheek. It felt tingly. Gajeel sat up and kept his hand on his face. He looked to his left and spotted a box on the floor. On it, a note that read:

"Found this outside the apartment. I think it could be yours. If not tell me.

-Laxus"

He was in here. That could explain the weird feeling on his face, did he touch him? And if so, why was it lingering? It also explains why he was in his room; Gajeel didn't remember falling asleep in here. He let go of his cheek and sleepily lifted up the box, quietly tearing the tape off and opening the box. They were CDs. His CDs. There were almost one hundred CDs from many different bands. Completely awake, he went through the box, wondering where they'd all come from. Each one had his name written on the side of the case, as he knew he wouldn't sell them, but since he moved out, he didn't think he would see them again.

He thought his dad threw them out.

Gajeel relaxed back in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He really thought his dad threw them away. The only person that could have sent the CDs to Gajeel would be him. It stressed him out, so much. He hated him. He hated his father.

He hated the painful, stressful memories he gave him. He hated the verbal abuse, he hated being teased, to be treated like a defenseless child. Then again, sometimes he did feel defenseless. He wished he had his medicine. At this point, there was no going back to sleep. He quietly walked to Laxus' room, closing the door behind him.

The curtains were shut, making the room much darker, save for the small light coming from a small opening in the curtains. Laxus' room had a lot more stuff in it. There were white shelves on the ceiling with few novels and DVDs. The lamp sat on a small desk, with a laptop and a headset. Laxus slept under the covers in his much larger bed. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there, but…

"Why are you in here?"

He jumped. He had no idea Laxus was awake. Did he wake him up? Likely. He wanted to leave, but that would be too awkward. What was he supposed to do at this point. He wanted to say something. He just wanted to speak to him. Laxus sat up and began to stretch, noticing Gajeel backing up. "I...Uh-"

"Don't worry about it…" Laxus said, wiping his eyes, "What was in the box?"

"Old CDs."

"Yours?"

Gajeel nodded, looking at the one he forgot to put back in the box. Laxus wiped his eyes once more before getting out of bed. "Need something?"

No, he didn't. he nodded anyway, hating himself after.

"What's up?"

Laxus stood over him, so tall, he could push him down and crush him at any moment. Gajeel didn't really know what to say to him at this point. He didn't want anything. He looked down at his CD, blushing.

"W-Why are you...d-doing this?" He stuttered quietly.

"Doing what?"

Gajeel looked back up at Laxus, "Why are you being so... nice?" he asked.

Laxus sat back down after a short pause, "Well...why shouldn't I be?"

"Its...I thought- It's only been a week since you've... really known me, right?"

"C'mere."

"...What?"

"Come over here."

Slowly and nervously, Gajeel put the CD down on the desk beside the bed and stood closer to Laxus, who invited him to sit. He denied to sit, and Laxus pulled him over to the bed, making him.

"What...what the hell are you doing!?" Gajeel yelled, his face now red.

"Just stay quiet."

His lip quivered as he was pulled further into the bed. Laxus held him down gently, looking over him. They gazed into each other's eyes. Laxus' eyes looked relaxed, like he knew what he was doing. He probably did, then again, he probably didn't. He moved, letting Gajeel breathe again, he wasn't sure why he held his breath, but it was as if he were being suffocated by confusion. "What the hell...was that."

"I'm not sure," Laxus said as he pulled the blanket over himself.

"You're not...what do you mean _you're not sure_!?" Gajeel jumped out of the bed, "You pulled me up onto the bed...for what!?"

"I dunno."

"I...ugh." He fell back onto the bed, spreading out his arms, his right arm falling lightly onto Laxus's head. Laxus chuckled, pushing his arm away, "Just go back to sleep or something."

"Well I'll _try_, but what with all the touching, I think you've startled me into _permanently staying awake._"

"Whatever, just go to sleep," Laxus laughed again.

"...I'm not GAY." Gajeel blushed.

"Neither am I."

* * *

It was warmer, much warmer, but still cloudy. Not to mention the thunder, and the winds, It would rain soon.

Today marks the second week of Gajeel's being here, and he'd finally been given chores. It was probably the worst day to go shopping, but he had to. Thankfully he wasn't using his own money; Laxus handed him 1000 jewel, and a list.

He didn't like going outside in such weather, but he did.

His long hair kept meeting with his face until he decided to put it in a ponytail, which didn't do too much justice. He walked to the marked with hair in his face for the next ten minutes. He has yet to see bare sunlight. At least some good things are happening. He has his CDs, and Laxus offered to make a shelf for them, so there's that. That's it. Shelves. Since he figured it would be raining for the next few days, he figured he should appreciate the little things.

The market was full of people, so many people gathering food for the incoming storm, as if it hadn't been raining for the past two weeks, probably longer. He hated people, he needed space. He can't be in crowds. He can stand in packed concerts, sure, he can be pulled into a conga line at parties, whatever. Gajeel just can't stand crowds otherwise. He felt like he would be knocked over, and trampled until he were dead. Was he claustrophobic? Maybe, but he wouldn't call it that. He just hated people. And there was a variety of people there, too. Large and small.

A large woman looked like she didn't care about the way she dressed. In fact, she wore a crop top and shorts. Now, Gajeel never really cared about the clothes on overweight people, but her clothes clearly did not fit. When she bent over, one could see the darkness within the crack of her rear. Her top revealed so much stomach, and only covered the breasts so much. One could see more bra than shirt. It was a miracle for Gajeel that the bra was there. Her children must be sad.

Gajeel turned around only to spot another, much skinnier mother with a screaming child. Her make up was overly profound and, honestly, made her look older than she might have been. She clearly wore concealer that was darker than the tone of her skin, and under it, were obvious lumps that could just be zits. She'd gotten a lip job which brought them to a bizarre size, and they were coated with layers of an ugly colored lipstick. her clipped eyelashes were larger than her actual eyes and her nose looked as face as her breasts, along with her buttocks which made her look like an hourglass. Her hair was pink and in a messy bun.

Her child was a boy that wanted apples, which she denied by yelling at him and calling him a brat, forcefully shaking her breasts as she bent down and up from his height. As she passed Gajeel, he noticed her wink, as she strutted towards the produce section, picking up everything but apples, possibly to spite the child. He shuddered. Gajeel wanted nothing to do with_ that._

Moving on, as he grabbed his cart, he bumped into a man. He looked strange. This one looked younger. Not that young he actually looked middle aged, at least, 40, maybe even 50, now that he thought about it. He had a weird look, and a weirder beard. His skin was dark and his hair was black and graying. He had a rather mysterious look on his face. He glared at Gajeel as he blushed in absolute embarrassment, "Ah- uh...sorry," Gajeel said, rushing to grab his cart and darting to a different aisle. The man scoffed, moving on to his shopping.

Gajeel felt like screaming. He had the eggs, milk, bread, and chips. He re-read the list, and spotted a note at the bottom. "There should be extra money, so buy something for yourself." He groaned as he shoved the note back into his pocket.

* * *

The soda was ice cold, much like the winds, which had picked up since he'd left the store. It got much colder as it got later. Gajeel sighed as he took a sip of his soda, carrying the bags of groceries and heading for home. His hair blew behind him, thankfully, but Gajeel still fought through the winds to get home. He just wanted to go inside, and kick Laxus' ass for...for what? For being generous? No, that's unreasonable, but he still didn't like it. More, he wasn't used to it. He'll kick his ass for making him go outside in winds like this.

Spotting a trash can, Gajeel stopped to throw away the now empty soda bottle when he turned his head back around, to the side, and saw a man. In fact, the same man from the store, across the street from him. He didn't stop walking, but he walked slowly. Gajeel shuddered and moved on, walking faster.

Finally home, Gajeel carefully placed the bags on the counter and leaped on the couch, relieved to return to the apartment. Laxus was in the bathroom taking a shower. There was a small amount of steam coming through the top of the bathroom door. How hot could it possibly be in there? He heard something. Gajeel heard a soft groan, and a bang coming from the bathroom. He wanted to know what was going on in there.

Actually, no, he didn't.

The shower went off, and steam emitted from the room as the door swung open and Laxus walked out, dressed in nothing but sweatpants, and socks. Laxus saw Gajeel sitting on the couch and watching the blaring TV. He grabbed the remote and turned it down, annoying him.

"What was that?" Gajeel asked.

"I could hear that from the bathroom." Laxus responded, sitting beside him, so close that he'd nearly crushed him between himself and the edge of the couch.

"F-fuck off!" Gajeel yelled, pushing him off and making him laugh.

"Relax, Gajeel!" Laxus laughed, soon grabbing his legs and pulling him off the couch. Gajeel kicked as he was pulled to the floor, and jumped up at Laxus, only to be grabbed and pushed against the wall. He struggled as he was held at the waist against the wall, kicking his laughing opponent. "Don't fucking laugh at me!" He screamed as he continued pushing Laxus away.

Laxus finally let go and Gajeel dropped to the floor, gasping for air, completely tired out. It was late, and it was Saturday. Laxus had to go soon.

"I'm gonna get dressed, kid."

"I am still 21."

"Act like it, then," Laxus chuckled. He closed the door to his bedroom. Gajeel looked up. He was in the kitchen, beside the fridge. On the ceiling was a white fan turned off, and very dusty, as if it hadn't been turned on in quite some time. Gajeel was drowsy. He did not want to go to sleep on the cold kitchen floor. He'd gotten up and sleepily walked towards the bedroom doors. Laxus walked out of his room, dressed, and looked at Gajeel.

"Oi, Gajeel."

"Ah?" Gajeel responded, wiping his eyes.

"Eat something before ya' go to bed."

"...okay." He'd forgotten to eat. How could that have happened?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Shit, fuck, fucking shit, unbelievable, fuck. Fuck!_

Gajeel had been there for a month now. Their interaction was the usual. Though, the day before, the two had been attacking each other with pillows, and they'd fallen on each other, much to Gajeel's embarrassment. Laxus laughed, but Gajeel froze, blushing as Laxus held him in his arms while lying on the floor. He would struggle until he was released. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He felt so uneasy.

And he just had a wet dream.

It was dark, quiet. The room was cold. He wasn't in his own room, no. He was in Laxus' room. The blinds were shut and could not be opened; they had no openings. Somehow, he felt as if he couldn't move. He turned towards the door to see the light from the hallway. The bathroom door was shut. The light went out. Laxus entered wearing nothing but a towel-but he wasn't visible from afar. He came closer and removed the towel from his waist, crawling into the bed and over Gajeel. He felt his right cheek, lightly. "Hello, Gajeel."

Gajeel tried to say utter a startled greeting, but he couldn't speak. He just breathed, and he did heavily. Laxus chuckled as he moved down to gently kiss his cheek, over and over, eventually moving to his lips. He let go and looked at Gajeel's eyes. They were wide in surprise and fear, also confusion. But he literally could not object. Laxus leaned in and whispered in his right ear, "You taste good, Gajeel," he giggled quietly, "Can I ask you to hold still?"

Laxus took a finger and moved it, softly, from his lip to his pelvis, tickling him. But he couldn't move. What was happening? What was happening to him?

He sat up in the bed. The rain pounding on the window worsened the headache, and he went to Laxus' room. The two opened the door and ran into each other. "Oi, Gajeel…!"

"A-ah…" Gajeel groaned, holding his head, "You... got any aspirin?"

"...Yeah."

4:00 am. The sun had not touched the dark sky. The moon sat behind a thick blanket of evergoing clouds that rarely reveal the light as it is. It was almost pitch black out, save for the streetlamps and porch lights. Laxus and Gajeel spent the hour in the bathroom, Gajeel holding his head to a wet rag, hiding his reddened face. The bathroom was small. The bath held enough for two-if one wanted to sit on the other that is-and the tiles were white to go with the rest of the apartment. over the tiles, on the walls was a polka-dot wallpaper with black dots and large white space. "You alright?" Laxus said, breaking the silence, but keeping his eyes locked on space.

"...yeah." Gajeel said, forbidding eye contact with his roommate. He could not believe the dream he had. Laxus was over him, touching him, kissing him. He'd whispered in his ear. His right cheek still tingled from the sensation, just the thought of being touched in such a way. Gajeel didn't want to think about it in front of Laxus. He stood, "I'm going to bed."

"Alright," Laxus muttered, still holding his head deep in thought.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

He was acting weird again. The rain sounded softer now. He wanted to open the window and let the cold raindrops cool him off in the now hot bedroom. Gajeel, instead, climbed into bed and wrapped himself under the blanket as hot as he may have been. He wanted to conceal himself. He wanted to hide away. He was so confused.

But…

* * *

He woke up at 8. The sun has shown it's face, but the clouds were not far. Gajeel opened the window to let in the breeze. He closed his eyes and relaxed in the cool air, resting on the window sill, wanting to fall asleep again. Soon, though, Gajeel left for the bathroom. As he turned on the light, he'd noticed a small green and yellow pill, with a yellow note card, the message written in sloppy, rushed cursive.

"Take one per day. Don't over do it."

-Laxus

Gajeel stood, silent. It was prozac. He got him _prozac_. Gajeel took the pill and downed it with water, relieved that he'd get to take it again. He first thought he could afford it. Then he thought Laxus wouldn't let him have it. He stared at the running water in the sink. What the hell was Laxus doing to him?

He heard the apartment door open, then close. Lock. Bags being placed on the counter and keys being tossed on the coffee table by the TV. Laxus threw himself on the couch, greeting Gajeel as he slowly exited the bathroom. Laxus turned on the TV, and turned the volume up, high. He was irritated.

Gajeel sat on the other end of the couch, eventually staring at him, and looking away, over and over. They sat in silence for the next hour, watching infomercials, reality tv shows, and cooking channels. Gajeel felt like he would explode. He had to tell him-tell him WHAT!? Gajeel had no idea what was going on, what he was feeling; he felt confused. So, hopelessly, _confused_. He looked at Laxus again. He was holding his head as if it ached, when really he was just annoyed. Annoyed at what…?

"Laxus?" What the hell was Gajeel doing anymore.

"Mm." Laxus grunted.

"...Are you...okay?"

"...no."

Gajeel turned his body towards him, scooting a bit closer, "What's wrong?"

"...nothing." he lied. Gajeel sighed, quietly.

"Are you...are you sure?"

"Just be quiet."

"...Mmm." Gajeel sighed again, sinking into the couch. They sat for another hour. It was 10am when Laxus stood and headed for the kitchen, grabbing bottles from the fridge and downing one. Gajeel tried not to stare. After 5 bottles, Laxus returned with a case, throwing himself on the couch once more, and handing him a bottle. Slowly, Gajeel took one, examining the label. Beer. He could've sworn he also had vodka and wine, but he never paid close attention. He drank his beer, much slower than Laxus did. He may as well have already been drunk.

Laxus propped his leg up on the couch, his feet very close to touching Gajeel's leg. he blushed. "What...what the hell is wrong with-?"

"Shh."

"..." Gajeel turned back to his beer.

Laxus grabbed Gajeel's beer and snatched it away, downing it as well. "What the fuck!?"

He moved over him and grabbed his wrists, holding them against the edge of the couch. Gajeel was shut up, blushing again and breathing heavily. Laxus grinned, cupping his chin. Gajeel started struggling and screaming, though his screams were muffled as Laxus covered his mouth. He struggled to push him off, but Laxus would not move. Eventually, he'd stopped struggling, and let Laxus drag him to his room.

Gajeel gasped for air, "What...what are you...why-what?"

"Just shut the hell up, I don't wanna talk about it."

Gajeel shakily sat up from the floor until he was grabbed by the collar to the side of Laxus' bed. He started struggling again, trying to escape the room. He didn't know what to do, what was happening? Why him?

He opened his eyes. It was dark and raining outside. Gajeel was on the floor, in his room. He was shaking. He was crying. Was this really how he felt? Was he afraid? Or…

"Are you alright?"

Laxus stepped in the room. The bathroom light was on, lighting the small hallway. Gajeel sniffed, "N-no, I'm fine-!" Gajeel stood, tripping on the blanket and falling on the bed. Laxus pulled him up into the bed and grabbed the blanket.

"No."

He dropped it. "Why not?"

"...It's hot."

"...alright." Laxus rested Gajeel's head on the pillow. "Hey, listen."

"Hm?"

"I uh...ordered some medicine for you. A-and you have to take it in the morning while I'm here, okay?"

"...Okay."

Gajeel was still shaking. He was trembling. Laxus put a hand on his head. It was warm. "Stay in bed today, okay?"

"...why…?"

"You have a fever."

"...oh." Gajeel's eyes fluttered back open. They looked at each other as Laxus stroked his pale cheek. He closed his eyes again. "Please don't stop."

"Okay."

* * *

He woke up coughing. It was clear that what happened that time actually happened; he was sick. He felt like shit. Gajeel sat up, groaning, and holding his cheek.

He stopped.

…

Gajeel got out of bed and walked to Laxus' room, holding his head. "Laxus?" he called with a scratchy voice, knocking on the door. "Laxus, I need medicine...Laxus?" He opened the door. Laxus was still in bed. He sighed, shaking him until he woke up.

"Oi, oi, what?" Laxus groaned, waking up, "What are you doing in here?"

"I need medicine."

"...right, okay." He sat up and wiped his face with his hands. Laxus pushed the blanket off himself, and headed for the bathroom. He opened the bathroom door and looked for the medicine. He turned around to Gajeel. "Don't look."

Gajeel turned around. That's right, that did happen...Laxus came back with two pills; one for depression, one for his feverish condition. He handed him a bottle of water. "Go get some rest," Laxus said, lightly pushing Gajeel back to his room, "I'll send Bixlow over later, okay?"

Gajeel didn't say much. Something else must've been wrong, but he didn't want to get too into his business. Laxus stepped into the shower. He held his head, "Unbelievable." he muttered, "How did this...fuck…!"

His face went red as he washed his face for the third time. Laxus couldn't keep his mind off him, off Gajeel. Why is this? He didn't know. He was way too concerned for the kid. He thought of whenever he called Gajeel that. He'd yell, "I'm 21!" until he accepted his real age. He would push him around and Gajeel would squirm in his grasp until he was free. Now he's sick. He felt obligated to stay here and care for him, but why!?

He liked him. That's why.

Unfortunately, work is work, and he couldn't miss today. Today, his grandfather, the bar's original owner, was stopping by to see how his grandson was doing. His grandfather was strict. Smart. The man could sniff out any problem there was. Hopefully, he wouldn't find out about Laxus' roommate and his tendencies to do drugs...and how much he loved him.

He walked out of the shower, drying himself off, and entering his room. Today would be stressful.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He had to look his best. A hot pink button-up shirt with a gray vest and a red tie, along with gray khakis. He stood behind the bar and cleaned out the glasses as the manager opened the bar. Gildarts Clive was written on his name tag. He also wore similar clothes with a blue theme. He brushed back his hair and scratched the back of his neck, putting out his cigar on an ashtray sitting on a table. "Should you even be doing that?" Laxus said, annoyed. Gildarts laughed.

"I do what I want, kid."

"23."

"Right, whatever." Gildarts sighed as he lit a new cigar, walking behind the bar to stand close to Laxus. He blew smoke in his face and laughed as he coughed. "You asshole!"

He pat Laxus' back, "Shake it off, kid, focus on your grand-dad."

Gildarts left for his office and Laxus sighed as someone in a similar fashion to his walked in, out of breath. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Hey, I wouldn't be late if it weren't for-!"

"Natsu?"

"...yeah."

"Gray," Laxus moved from the counter, "What the hell is going on with him? He always...does this."

"Pfft," Gray couldn't resist laughing, "Natsu's got a girlfriend," he sang, "Lucy. Heartfilia."

Laxus looked out the door's window to see natu holding the back of his head awkwardly, while talking to her. She wore a pike blouse and a blue skirt, with white kneesocks. Her face was covered by a light blue umbrella, but when she lifted it up to kiss Natsu's cheek, her face was revealed. Lucy heartfilia. the cheerleader from Laxus' old high school. She joined in the middle of the year as a sophomore and became a really clumsy cheerleader for the football team. They were all over her regardless.

How the hell did Natsu do that?

Natsu came in, dripping wet, and laughing, "Uh, hello-!"

"You're late."

"Whatever, man! I was with my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, well," Laxus laughed, "When you said you had a girlfriend, you didn't say that it was _Lucy Heartfilia._ Y'know, the same girl that you _fell on _during the game _you lost_?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu yelled, "Fight me!"

"No."

Laxus went back behind the bar and Natsu and gray headed for the kitchen, where they were scolded by Gildarts for being late. Laxus snickered, "What assholes."

3:30pm. the bar was thriving with people and music. The regulars, Macao and Wakab, flirted with as many women as they could while still drunk, and until Laxus told them to knock it off. People were celebrating turning 21, and 16 year olds being thrown out constantly. Parents getting away from kids, and men watching soccer, eventually also being thrown out for being as rowdy as they were; breaking glasses and tables. Messy, usual day for Laxus. But today, his grandfather would come by.

And here he was. He was rather short, but he looked all to serious to be made fun of. slowly, he walked up to the bar with his hands behind his back. He looked at his grandson as he hopped on to one of the red seats. "If it isn't Laxus, my boy, you and Gildarts must hold this old bar up well."

"Ah- we do! Uh...I do," He muttered the last part, "Gildarts is in the back, but, Gramps, what can I get ya'?" Laxus asked in a rather sarcastic tone, making his grandfather laugh. "Scotch. One shot, for now."

He poured his grandfather's drink, listening as his grandfather was called by his name by Macao and Wakaba, those loudmouths, "Yo Makarov!" "Hey gramps, what you been up to?"

Makarov waved at the men and the two continued to gaze at the women sitting beside them. Laxus looked at them, "Wakaba is such a faithful husband, ain't he?"

"Looks like they must be fighting again."

"About money. When they fight about money-"

"He spends it here," Makarov sighed, "As always." He was no different when Makarov handled the place. Him shouting for girls over and over and trying to convince Macao to do so as well. But at the time, Macao was a married man. Now he's an understandably lonely drunk, and he fell for his friend's tactics.

"Now, tell me, I hear you got a new roommate, correct?"

"Uh-! Yeah, I do...He's sick today."

"Ah, send him my best wishes," Makarov smiled. Laxus Held his breath, _Holy shit. _Makarov downed his shot and signaled his hand for another.

"He should be fine, he's with Bixlow," Laxus said, cleaning out a shot glass for Makarov, "He's quiet unless you talk to him first...in that case he's kind of an asshole," He laughed as he handed the glass to his grandfather, who graciously took it, smiling.

"I'm sure he's a fine lad!" He said as he took a sip from his scotch, "Now, it looks like you're busy with other customers, so I won't keep you long." He stood from the stool. He was just as tall as the stool; Laxus had to look over the bar completely to catch a glimpse of him. "I will be in town for a while, so please don't forget to stop by. I'll be at the hotel near the square."

"I'll see you around, old man."

"I may be old but I'm still pretty lively!"

"Pssh," Laxus moved on to his next customer.

Laxus stretched as he walked into the apartment. There were crumbs on the floor. That fucker. He walked towards Gajeel's room. There was no sound. He heard giggling from his room. that _fucker_. He opened the door to reveal Bixlow sharing the bed with Gajeel, who was deeply asleep.

"What the fu- What the FUCK!?"

"Shh!"

"Ah-! What…?"

Bixlow pointed to Gajeel. He curled up on the other side of the bed, taking up most of the blankets. Bixlow had in his hands magazines. _Personal _magazines.

"BIXLOW!"

"Shh!"

"WHERE...where did you get those!?" Laxus whispered, loud enough for Bixlow to hear.

"I found them in a box under the bed."

"You fucking searched my room!? Dude what the fuck, those are really personal!"

"Sure they are, Laxus," He mocked as he turned the page. A naked woman with short blonde hair popped up, making Bixlow smile. She wore only pink kneesocks and rested on a round, white bed with red and pink heart pillows. The next page showed a darker woman in the same setting. It was the Valentines Day issue. "Can I keep this?"

"Fuck no you can't keep it!"

Bixlow grinned, "I really can't? You must really like this, ne?" He teased.

"I don't-I MEAN I DO!"

"Shh!" Bixlow said once more before patting the ill figure beside him.

"And why in here?" Laxus asked, putting his hands on his hips, "I don't exactly like it when people are in here other than myself."

"Well...there was a bug."

"...a what."

"Dude, a spider. It was huge, and Gajeel didn't like it. So here we are, enjoying the comort in your room!"

"..."

"Okay fine, fuck, Gajeel came here on his own."

"...why?"

"I dunno...maybe he likes you!"

" I don't fucking like him!" Laxus retorted, slamming his foot to the floor.

"Well he-wait what?"

"I said I don't-"

"I didn't say that _you _liked him."

"You said-!...fuck"

"Wait!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Laxus yelled, pulling him out of the bed, "Just shut the fuck up!"

"You...you!" Bixlow pointed to Laxus, "Do you really!?"

"GET OUT!" Laxus pushed him out of the room and towards the door, "GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE _GAY_."

"I. AM. NOT." Laxus pushed him out of the door. Bixlow raised his hand in defense.

"No, no dude! Just wait a sec! ...do you...do you have feelings for Gajeel?"

Laxus glared at him, and then sighed, "I do."

"Dude, you might be bi, first of all," Bixlow stepped under Laxus' arm and back into the apartment, much to laxus' dismay, "Secondly, if you got feelings for Gajeel why don't you tell-!"

"Sh-SHHH don't let him hear THAT!"

"...fine, whatever, dude. But," Bixlow looked at Laxus' room door. It was slightly opened, "what if he likes you, dude?"

"Bullshit, Bixlow."

"Just a suggestion...Oh shit, hey, I gotta go, I'm supposed to be home soon, Lisanna's moody again tonight!" Bixlow said, running out the door and shutting it. Laxus held his hand to his head sighing, and moving back into his room to put the magazines away. Gajeel woke up slowly, sitting up while still holding a pillow from the bed. He wiped his eyes and looked into space, before finally turning to meet Laxus. Laxus could only smile.

"You okay?"

Gajeel nodded sleepily. He turned away once more before going back to sleep. Laxus caressed his cheek, listening to his soft, relaxed moans. "Stay here," he muttered under the sheets. Laxus took off his jacket and sat beside Gajeel on the bed. He wasn't as warm anymore, which was good.

"My grandfather came by today…he said that he wishes you well."

"...mmm…" Gajeel sat up once more, "Your...grandfather?"

Laxus didn't stop gently brushing his roommate's cheek, "Yeah, he used to own the bar I work at."

"...Mm." Gajeel grabbed his hand and pushed him against the bed frame. Laxus' eyes opened wider as Gajeel wrapped his arms around his neck and rested on his chest. His breath was shaky, but warm. Laxus, nervously, rested one hand on his back. Later, the other, on his hair. It was soft. "Gajeel…?" Laxus called, nervously, "What...what are you doing?"

"...I don't...know."

"..." Laxus lifted him up and let the younger man rest on his shoulder as he rubbed his back, and combed his hand through his hair. "Are you okay?"

"Um...yeah." Gajeel said as he nuzzled into his shoulder, "I'm okay."

"All...alright then." He held him tighter as Gajeel sighed, releasing warm breath onto Laxus' neck, making him shudder. Laxus pulled the blanket over the sleeping figure and turned out the light. This felt nice, to the both of them. Laxus relaxed in Gajeel's warmth over his body as he continued to bush his soft, long locks. He turned his head slightly, and-

What was he doing? Was this right? Was this something he should be doing? He did it anyway. He kissed his forehead. but he did so softly. Gajeel moaned, sweetly. Though he was far too deep asleep to notice the kiss. Laxus was relieved. He turned off the lamp and closed his eyes.

They woke up staring at each other. Their faces were red. They bit their own lips. Gajeel, hesitantly, moved away, "I...uh?" Laxus started, "S-sorry, you were...I-"

"No...It's….it's okay…It's…" Gajeel sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking at Laxus. He still had his day clothes on and probably didn't shower last night. Laxus wiped his face in embarrassment. Gajeel kept his sleepy eyes on him. He crawled back over to him, resting beside him and laying his head on his shoulder. "It's okay."

This was weird.

Laxus didn't say anything. They spent the morning there, asleep. Changing positions. Wrapping their arms around each other. They had no idea what they were doing but they'd embraced the soft touches and tight hugs. The two would look at each other when the positions would change. Eventually, it was 12pm, and Laxus pulled Gajeel out of bed, "Let's eat."

"Okay."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Laxus went to work over an hour ago. It was 4pm. The place was quiet; the TV was left off and Gajeel sat silently. He could no longer bear the silence and so made his way outside. Today was a miracle. It was warm, and sunny. The breeze wasn't too cold or too harsh. It had been over a month since he'd moved in, and Gajeel hadn't seen a day like this since.

Gajeel ended up walking through the town square. There was a fountain at the center with kids running around, flailing their ribbons around and talking with food in their mouths. There were markets selling toys and cute foods on sticks. He bought himself a rice ball that shaped like a panda. It was rather cute, and many people would regret eating it. However, Gajeel is not many people.

The ground was decorated with chiseled stones around the fountain and up, along with dried pink paint as if it were thrown around by kids, along with glitter and popped balloons. He kicked it around, angered at the polluted area, even though it still looked quite pretty. He moved through the crowd and out of the square. Gajeel passed a park, also full of kids playing sports as if they had no idea what they were doing, and the burger place he went to his first day here. It wasn't as cheap anymore, 100 jewels for two burgers. Still, nothing he couldn't pay for. He walked in, enjoying the less crowded area within the place.

Two burgers, large fries, 200 jewel. Gajeel sat and enjoyed himself.

Though, he felt weird. Why did he feel weird? He didn't want to feel this way, he needed space, some time to have fun while it was still sunny out. He held his head, what the hell was wrong with him?

Gajeel finished his food and headed out. He was going back home. His face was red and he was far too frustrated to be out. Gajeel jumped when he felt something lightly touch his shoulder, "_What?_"

"O-oh! Sorry, I didn't know you...um…" She stuttered in confusion and fear. Gajeel mentally slapped himself and held his hand up in defense, "No, it's not your fault, I was just..I…" He sighed. What the hell was wrong with him all of a sudden.

"Well...h-have you seen a man named Laxus? He looks like this!" the young woman pulled a small photo out of her leather purse, showing it to him. It was a photo of Laxus-an old one. It must've been taken back when he was in high school, maybe college? He was there with the Strauss siblings, along with Bickslow and those other two...wait. The Strauss siblings.

"...Are you...Mirajane?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I am! Um... have you... seen my magazines…?"

"Uh-yes-well...no, not...no, _listen_, I do know Laxus, and I... also know you!" Uh, bad choice of words. "Uh, well, I mean...I went to school with you! I was no-" No, don't say that. You say things to the most popular girl at school, she shames you with mass texts and bad photos on lockers. Then again, They weren't at school. In fact, that was years ago. Though, now, she's famous all over the country and instead of humiliating himself for a day, he could potentially ruin his reputation around the world forever.

"Gajeel?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. Mirajane pointed at him, surprised, "You're Gajeel!" Her face lightened up, he smile so bright. She was very pretty. And it was interesting, not only did she remember him, she also called him by his first name.

"Wait...you left school, didn't you?"

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing she remembered.

"Oh, shit," He muttered, "Ah, yeah...I did." He had to tell the truth, but he couldn't go further into detail. So much for telling the truth. "Well...I had...uh- I moved!"

"Did you?"

He was not getting out of this. "Uh…"

"Nee-san!"

"Oop! That's my brother, Elfman, I gotta go!" Mira pointed towards her brother, waving her way.

"Wait a sec!" Gajeel stopped her, making her turn around, "L-Laxus is at work...He works at a bar a few blocks away from here!"

"Thank you!" She yelled as she skipped towards her brother. Gajeel slapped his face and held his head low, in absolute embarrassment. He felt like he would die right there on the sidewalk, and Mira would laugh from afar as she mass texted his limp body to everyone in her graduating class. He was jobless, poor, wore shitty clothes and was just generally shitty himself...no, she's so nice. She was sweet. Usually models weren't as sweet as they looked on their prints. He'd seen magazines and calendars, posters and tapes that his father owned. His father would always talk to girls that looked like models, and according to him, they were rude.

Maybe they were actually nice.

* * *

He was at home. It was dark outside, raining once more. Though, tonight, the rain was gentle and peaceful. Gajeel blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. The large shelf to his right was full of novels. The white lamp to his right sat on a drawer full of magazines. The window in front of him was slightly opened, letting in a gentle breeze.

What was he doing in Laxus' room?

He slowly pulled the blanket over him, not wanting to wait for him any more before going to sleep. He felt sleepy, but he wanted to stay awake. He admitted, he was waiting. Gajeel was waiting for Laxus. Gajeel wanted to just be with Laxus.

The front door opened and closed. It was him. The sound of a bag hitting the floor and a sigh. Laxus removed his shoes and his jacket, opening the door to his room. Laxus saw him resting quietly in his bed. He stood there, wide eyed, "Gajeel?"

"Mmm…?"

"...everything okay?"

"Mmm…" He was half asleep. Laxus leaned over the bed, on Gajeel's side, holding his cheek. He looked so vulnerable. "Shh…"

"Okay."

He, slowly, bent down to kiss his cheek, and rest on his forehead, "Gajeel…"

"Laxus…?"

"C'mere," Laxus pulled him up and had him rest on his lap, soon scooting over to rest on the bed frame. They were exhausted. They weren't thinking. They were so close to each other's faces. The rain was so relaxing; Gajeel felt soft tingles on his forehead as he rested on Laxus' shoulder, and it was either the rain, or Laxus' light kisses. He remembered all those times this never happened. All those moments he'd spent throwing up pills in the bathroom, the moments he wasted just being depressed with no one and nothing but his drunk father. Laxus kissed his forehead once more before grabbing him by the chin and, slowly, pulling him into a kiss.

Their lips touched, softly, yet they would remain in that position for what seemed like forever. But then they both pulled away. Laxus whispered, "What happened to you not being gay?"

"You kissed me," Gajeel said, sleepily.

"You didn't object. C'mere…"

They kissed again, though this time it was deeper. Their tongues touched and moved around each other until the two would find themselves laying on the bed, Gajeel over Laxus. His eyes were wide as he realized what was going on; the heat, the sudden loss of breath, Gajeel's face was red once again as he stared at Laxus, who seemed relaxed.

"You don't have to, I don't want to either."

They were silent. The sound of light rain filled the room. The two stared at each other for long, until, finally, Gajeel responded, "Okay."

Laxus gently rested Gajeel back on the bed, pulling the blanket over him. "I'm gonna take a shower," he said before climbing out the bed. Gajeel watched him as he headed for the bathroom, scratching his head. He felt sick. He felt awful. Why did he deny it? He was ready, wasn't he? Stupid, stupid idiot, he repeated these lines in his head, stupid fucking idiot…He closed his eyes and let the rain put him to sleep. Gajeel didn't want all these feelings to keep beating the shit out of him. He was done.

He loved Laxus.

* * *

Laxus and his grandfather sat on the couch in the large hotel room, watching the news, which showed promising weather; they weren't expecting any rain this week. Makarov smiled, "It must rain all the time here, hmm?"

"So often, I can't really remember last time it was sunny," he smiled back, "Hopefully business goes well this week."

"Hmm...Laxus?"

"Yeah? What's up?" Laxus sat up, straight, looking at Makarov as he held his hand to his own chin, thinking. Makarov looked back at him, putting his hands on his lap.

"Why don't you take the week off?"

"...wait, take that week off? Me?" He asked, gesturing to himself, "Don't you think they'll need help at the bar?"

"Nah, they have plenty of employees! Laxus, you need a well deserved vacation, and this week will have such fine, warm weather! Go out somewhere with your friends!"

"...really…" Laxus looked back at the TV. They showed the beach. It was thriving with people, and the boardwalk featured various shops and restaurants. Bixlow and Lisanna did asked if he could go with them not too long ago, and maybe he could ask Mira while she was in town. Gajeel would also...Gajeel…

"Alright, I guess a vacation would be good now, actually…" Laxus rested his elbow on his knee, placing his hand to his chin, "They did ask me to go to the beach with them, didn't they…" he muttered. Makarov smiled again.

"Go enjoy yourself, boy, I'll talk to gildarts myself."

Laxus headed out, The sun was showing through the clouds, and patches of blue sky could be seen. A lot of people came outside since the weather report, hopeful that the sun would truly shine again. The last sunshine lasted half the day. This really bought hope to the people. Laxus sighed in relief, heading back to his apartment, only to run into Bixlow.

"Laxus!" He yelled, punching his arm, "What's up?"

"We're going to the beach, you asshole."

Bixlow's eyes went wide. Laxus wanting to go to a public place? No way, no way. The only place that he'd want to be in that's crowded is that bar, he wants to go to the beach? "Laxus, holy shit," He said before reaching out to touch his head, "You got a fever man? You sick?"

"'Fuck off me!" Laxus said, pushing him away, "I ain't _sick, _I just...wanted to-"

"Ooooh!" Buxlow teased, "I think I know where this is going!"

"What the hell do you even know-"

"You want to take Gajeel!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Laxus yelled, grabbing at the hand that pointed at him, "SHUT UP."

Aww, Laxus, it's not that big of a deal, you and Gajeel are going as friends, no problem, no problem, Bixlow said, smiling and shrugging, "But then, in the hotel room-"

"Bixlow."

"As the sun sets and you two have relaxed together in your room…"

"BIXLOW."

"You two look into each other's eyes-"

"BIXLOW I WILL THROW YOU OFF A **FUCKING ROOF**."

"I am just KIDDING, Laxus!" Bixlow laughed, soon falling on the ground out of breath. He panted, "You...just take him, then…!...oh god," he wiped his face of the sweat that fell from his forehead. Laxus snarled as he grabbed his friend's hand, pulling him up from the sidewalk. Bixlow was about to comment on how this would be a double date, but the way Laxus looked at him, he kept his mouth shut about it, still giggling at the thought. Gajeel and Laxus going out.

How crazy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was Sunday morning and Laxus and Gajeel were packing to spend the week away. Gajeel, of course, didn't have too much. He stood at hi messy closet, looking at the tattered t-shirts that fell from the hangers, on the box full of cds. He, sleepily, scratched his head as he closed the closet door. He had no decent clothes to wear. Though, he did steal one of Laxus' hoodies, which was a tad too big for himself, actually. He took it anyway, yanking it from the closet and threw it on his bed.

That's it. The hoodie, and some socks. His sneakers too. Gajeel sighed as he gave in, grabbing his best t-shirts from the closet, checking it off his list. Tops, shoes, underwear and socks. He needed shorts, sandals, and swim trunks-shit, _shit_, he didn't own a pair of swim trunks. Off to Laxus' room. He sighed. This was the worst part.

"I can...I can buy you some," He said.

_Thank god._

It was hot outside. Bixlow's van carried so much, but left plenty space. The strauss siblings waved as Laxus entered the driver's seat on the right, and Gajeel quietly stepped in, sitting in the passenger's seat beside him. Laxus, with a fist, brushed his blushing cheek. He wasn't used to going out with Laxus and his friends, whether he knew them or not. Bixlow climbed in the back seats and sat beside Lisanna, followed by two others. Evergreen and Freed. Evergreen looked like she may have been an actress-turns out she was. She snuck away from her security guards. Freed dressed in a floral t-shirt with the words "Nice" on the back. They were Laxus' friends as well. Evergreen adjusted her glasses as she exclaimed, "There's no room for me to move!"

"Hey, this is a good van, we'll crowd with the luggage together because we're all family!" Bixlow said with a cheesy tone. The back of the van showed seats going around the van, stopping at the door. Behind the seats were everyone's luggage. In the center of the seats was a table attached to the van, which provided cup holders. Evergreen would have plenty room if it weren't for her excess luggage sitting beside her, near the van door.

Laxus laughed, "She's gonna stab you with her glasses," he said, adjusting the mirror. They group in the back made loud conversation, which gave Gajeel time to speak to Laxus.

"Laxus."

"Hmm?" Laxus responded.

"I...need medicine."

"You bought it, right? It's in your back."

"No...I ...have motion sickness." He admitted. Laxus grabbed a small bag beside him, which was sitting in the pockets of the door. He pulled out a box that read, "bronine."

"Take this," he said, "I have it too."

Blushing, again, Gajeel took a pill, swallowing it with bottled water. "T-thanks."

"No problem."

They both looked away from each other as Laxus drove off. Bixlow played music in the back, and they all sang badly, save for Mirajane. Laxus eventually started singing. Gajeel kept his mouth shut. He was terrible at singing...not that it was so bad his voice would _crack _and break windows...It just wasn't "_good._" They laughed at Bixlow's obviously exaggerated tone, forcing his voice to crack and flailing his arms in his girlfriend's face as she laughed, trying to push them away. Evergreen fixed her glasses, "By the way, who's the new guy, Laxus?"

"Oh!" Bixlow interrupted, "That's his-" He paused, sensing the deathly glare aimed at him. "fffffffffffriend. That's his friend- his roommate!" Bixlow motioned towards Gajeel, "Ever! You remember that kid with the nose?"

"It's Gajeel…" Gajeel muttered.

"Oh, Gajeel? Huh, that's funny, I haven't seen you since-"

"A-anyway!" Laxus stopped her, changing the subject, "Tell us about your new movie."

"Ah!" Evergreen was pleased, clasping her hands together, "My new film! _The Queen of the Fairies_, I am the main character, the princess, learning how to become queen with the love of my life, a prince! Oh how I've always wanted to be with a prince! And how I've always wanted to be a sort of ruler, and my dress is absolutely marvelous, with sparkling green gems and golden jewels, I make the perfect princess!"

"I wish i could be a princess," Mira said. Evergreen pointed a finger towards her lips, "Now now, dear Mirajane, you are more of a princess than you believe!"

"I...am?"

"At most, to me, darling!" She smiled as she held her with one arm. Elfman blushed, not wanting to assume what was going on.

"Oh wow, you get to act more like a princess than you already do, huh?" Bixlow teased. Evergreen slapped him with a white glove, pouting as he laughed.

* * *

After two hours of driving, they'd stopped at a breakfast buffet. The sign read, "Pancakes and Iced Cakes." They served various breakfasts and desserts. Evergreen sat with Mira and Elfman at the corner of the front of the restaurant, discussing the script of Evergreen's movie. Bixlow and Lisanna sat behind them, facing the window, and eventually inviting a lonely Freed to sit with them. Laxus and Gajeel sat more towards the back, also by the window. Gajeel kept his hands clasped, looking away from Laxus and through the window. outside was the sidewalk sitting between a small set of gardens with lively flowers. The sun showed with clear skies. It would look better if it weren't for the parking lot.

Laxus took his chin and turned his head towards himself.

Gajeel looked at him, shocked, yet still silent. Laxus looked around to see everyone completely distracted, and not many other people were around. They couldn't be seen by their friends due to the chairs being as high up as they were. Laxus leaned in and kissed his lips, lightly and softly.

Gajeel kept looking, his face completely red. Laxus snickered as he placed a finger on his lips, cleaning off the drool that slipped out his gaping mouth. He sat back the minute the waitress came and asked for their order. "Pancakes for both of us," Laxus said. The waitress smiled, nodding as she wrote the order down, strutting her way back to the kitchen.

"What are you...what are…" Gajeel stuttered as Laxus cupped his cheek again and pulled him into another, deeper, kiss. No one saw. They were invisible. The atmosphere grew warmer and warmer as the kiss went deeper, and their tongues played with each other. He gently pushed Gajeel away, back into his seat, as he was sure the waitress would return. She did, and with two plates with pancakes, stacked, and covered in syrup with a slice of butter. She smiled, placing their meal on their table.

"You okay?" Laxus asked Gajeel when the waitress left for the kitchen. He, slowly, nodded as he turned his head back towards the window. Laxus forced him to turn back around, "C'mon, just eat with me, okay?"

He nodded again, reaching for his drink. He ate slowly. They ended up spending an hour their due to the longevity of Evergreen's conversation with Mira, Bixlow's flirting with Lisanna, Freed switching between the two tables, and Gajeel hesitantly eating. Laxus scrolled through his phone, patiently waiting for Gajeel to finish, and not quite planning on waiting for anyone else. Eventually, Gajeel finished, and Laxus paid their bill. Bixlow and Evergreen also chipped in, and Mirajane offered to tip. They headed out, Gajeel walking much slower than the others.

_What is he doing to me?_

* * *

Another hour stuck in a cramped car, this time, in traffic. Laxus sighed as he rested his arm on the wheel, turning to Gajeel. "Hey, is your medicine wearing-?"

He was asleep.

Laxus reached an arm out towards him, wanting not to wake him up, but to just touch his cheek. He wasn't sick-warm, but he gave off a warm feeling. Gajeel moved a bit, but remained asleep. Laxus grinned, grabbing a coat from his luggage strapped on his seat, behind him. It was long enough to work as a small blanket for the time being. The whole van was quiet, so he figured that everyone else was sleeping as well. He pulled the coat over Gajeel and made sure his head rested comfortably before traffic moved again. Right before, he kissed his forehead.

He moaned, sweetly.

* * *

They were there, after so long. It was four in the afternoon and everyone was too beat to not go into their rooms and just take a nap. "We'll rest for a few hours," Laxus said, after they'd finished bringing the luggage into their rooms, "Then we can go eat."

"I want to eat somewhere fancier," Evergreen stated, "Maybe a seafood restaurant?"

"Nah," Bixlow denied, "Maybe somewhere less _expensive_, like...there's a place that sells chicken wings across the street!"

"Disgusting!" Evergreen said, slapping Bixlow with her glove.

"Can't we...just go get pizza?" Gajeel muttered, loud enough for them to hear. They stared at him as if he had two heads. He didn't talk much, and he figured that may be the reason. "Or, y'know...something like that…?"

"Actually," Mira spoke, "There's a pizza place that way. They sell wings too, and ice cream!"

"Oh, Nee-san," Elfman said, "My mouth is watering! Pizza is a delicacy! A man like me's gotta keep fit!"

"That doesn't mean you can't have pizza every once in a while!" Lisanna laughed, "C'mon, let's rest up a bit, I'm not ready to eat yet," She held her still pretty full stomach. Bixlow pat her back and smiled, "Yeah, I'm takin' a damn nap, see you when I see you."

They waved and opened the door to their room, next to the group. Evergreen left with Elfman and Lisanna, and Gajeel and Laxus were left in the hallway. Gajeel scowled as Laxus nudged his arm, snickering, "Why the hell're you so nervous?" He asked. Gajeel glared at him, turning away and entering their room, ignoring Laxus' calls.

Once their door was locked, Gajeel finally turned around and pushed at him with his hand. "Care to explain what the fuck that was?"

"What _what _was?" Laxus shrugged, only to be pushed again.

"At the fucking...at the diner! You fuck...you kissed me...why the fuck did you kiss me!?"

"What-what do you mean why?"

"You kissed me! For _no_ reason? Why did you kiss me!?"

"Well you didn't seem that bothered when I first did it, what's the big fucking deal, Gajeel!?"

"I...You...I don't fucking know! You can't just...kiss me for no good reason! You can't…" He panted, holding his head, confused. Gajeel was red-faced, humiliated. He gave the impression that he was a nervous wreck to _everyone_. He wasn't fucking shy, no, he was strong. He was tough and he knew what he fucking wanted. Though, now, he didn't know what he wanted. Gajeel already admitted to himself, _he loved Laxus._ Not just as a close friend, but he was pretty much a crush now, but why was he angry? What did Gajeel _want_?

"You okay?"

He looked up, slowly, at Laxus who'd placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked twice as concerned when he saw the tears falling down Gajeel's face. "Gajeel, w-what's wrong? Did you need anything? Are you..are you alright?" He asked, Placing both hands on Gajeel's shoulders. Gajeel looked down at the floor. Their feet were very close.

He leaned in, resting on his chest. Laxus immediately held him, rubbing his back and saying, "You're okay, don't worry too much about it, I won't do it again, I promise-"

"No."

"...What?"

"...Just," Gajeel looked up again. Was he really going to let him do this again? How would it feel? Good? Bad? "Kiss me again. O-on my head, please."

He did so. They stood there, in the middle of the room, silent. After a minute, Gajeel moved out of Laxus' grasp, "I'm gonna take a nap."

"Okay."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The pizza place was small, though quite colorful-almost trippy. The tables and the walls shared the same style and thus practically blended in with each other. Gajeel sat first, on the table by the back of the restaurant, in the corner of the small cubicle. Laxus sat right beside him, patting his back, making Gajeel tense up. Laxus laughed.

"Chill out, Gajeel, just find something to eat, okay?" Laxus muttered. Gajeel nodded in response, crossing his arms. He was still embarrassed about not long ago, when he was kissed at the breakfast place. Who saw them? Did his friends see them kissing? He couldn't live it down without answers, but Gajeel wouldn't ask anytime soon. Evergreen looked up from the menu and scrunched up her face.

"This food is...not...clean, I suppose the term is," She said, "A lot of it has so much sauce, maybe I'll just get a salad?"

"At a pizza place, ya' get pizza, Ever," Bixlow said, irritating her, "You eat it with your hands, and if you're that disgusted, why don't you just use your gloves then, hmm?"

"No!" She shouted, standing in protest, "These are 10,000 jewel white leather gloves, and I refuse to have them be damaged by such a ridiculous idea as that!"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Laxus said, making her pout once more.

Gajeel looked outside. The sun was setting, showing a nice, pink color in the sky. He sighed, "Why don't you just use a paper towel?"

"Oh yeah!" Bixlow snapped his fingers, "Do that, Ever! Then you won't have to waste your precious babies on such a delicacy that is pizza!"

Laxus groaned, "When the hell do you _not _have pizza, Bixlow?"

"On Sundays, when the place CLOSES, Laxus."

"May I take your order, desu?" The waitress asked. She wore a black, frilled skirt and a red shirt with a large, purple button that said "Kawaī pizza," the name of the shop. Her hair was dyed pink and was in a bun, and she wore a tone of blush. She winked when she finished her question, as she put the tip of her pen in her mouth, and holding the notepad to her face. Laxus cringed at "desu."

"Uh...a large cheese?"

"Yes! Any drinks for any of you, desu? We have all sorts of soda desu!"

"Coke. _For all of us and that's it._" Laxus sputtered, wanting their waitress to go the hell away.

"Sure thing, desu!"

Laxus held his hand to his head, sighing at the absolute stupidity that he'd just experienced. Bixlow laughed aloud once she left for the kitchen. "Was she serious!? I can't tell; was that a fucking joke!?"

"That was too damn real," Laxus sighed, "I sure hope that was worth it…"

"A real man would fight through it, Laxus!" Elfman stood, flexing, "No matter how silly the language, a man would force himself to understand!"

"Sit down." Evergreen ordered.

"Yes ma'am." He did as told. Bixlow sniggered before being slapped again by her white gloves. He took the glove, and tossed them on the floor. She screeched, as if she'd witnessed a brutal death, running towards the victim laying on the middle of the unswept floor. As she lifted the glove in despair, she looked at the crumbs, dust, and hair that resided on it. She stood up, and threw it at Bixlow.

"How DARE you!?" She yelled, " How dare you ruin _my _10,000 jewel glove!? Who do you think you are!?"

"I think you can buy those for 20 jewel at a clothes shop." Bixlow stated, "Just WASH them you big baby."

"Absolutely NOT! If I wash them, they could ruin, maybe shrink! Think of the possibilities; they could be torn apart, mix with the wrong colors, or even ruin the durability!"

"Ever." Laxus called.

"WHAT."

"Sit down, shut up, eat your damn food," He said, still holding his head, "You guys are loud as hell."

"Hmph," Evergreen sat and, with a plastic fork and knife, ate away at her slice of pizza, annoying Bixlow. Lisanna poked him, complaining. He continued to focus on her, smiling at the shorter figure sitting beside him. Mirajane talked to Laxus about her modeling career. She would be traveling more, though she wanted to come to town more sounded very pleased with how things were going, as did Laxus. Gajeel didn't like this. Still, he ignored them, and ate his slice of pizza.

They giggled, smiling at each other. Gajeel had it. Annoyed, he dropped his pizza and stood, "I'm going to the bathroom." He muttered out of his teeth.

"Okay."

No sign of worry. He groaned, loud enough for him to hear, still hoping that no one else heard his obviously needy voice. He stepped in to men's restroom and washed his face. There was a flush coming from the stall behind him, but no one came out. Weird. The whole bathroom was weird. The walls were as colorful as they were outside the small bathroom, however dirtier. As if no one came in here to clean it. The floors were supposed to be white, but instead they were muddy, painted with dirt and sand and dust in the corners. Gajeel was disgusted.

Lisanna and Bixlow were kissing, flirting with each other while Elfman looked down on them, as if he were grossed out. Evergreen brushed off their actions and plucked off the dirt from her precious glove. Laxus and Mira were still laughing happily, though they'd moved on to soft punches and Mira lightly slapping him. Gajeel wanted to go right back to the bathroom. He felt sick, as if he would throw up. He wanted to.

The waitress came back; that happy look on her face brought back Laxus' headache. "Is everyone okay here, desu?" She asked, putting the tip of her pen on her lips, now wearing coats of clear, sparkly lipstick. Laxus glared at them as she pulled the pen away from her mouth, some of the lickstick flinging away from her lips and on the pen and the table. He wanted to say no. So bad, he wanted to say no. "We're fine."

"Ano…"

"_Oh god_," he muttered.

"Your bill, desu!" She squinted her eyes and handed him the bill, pretending to be afraid of his annoyance, even though it was already there. Laxus handed her jewel, immediately, and got up. "I think we're good here."

Gajeel walked over to the table once the waitress left. Laxus looked down to see him oddly close to him. "You ready to go back?"

"Yeah," he said, in quite the serious tone, which went unnoticed by Laxus.

* * *

They rested on the bed. Gajeel turned his back towards Laxus and ignored his every touch and poke.

"What's wrong?"

"Oi, Gajeel."

"Hey!"

"What?" Gajeel gave in, sitting up. Laxus moved off of his side and rested on his arm.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"...what do you mean?"

"Well," Laxus sat up completely and rested on the pillow on the bed frame, "You haven't spoken to me since we got back to the hotel...or, actually, since we left that pizza place...dude, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Are...are you feeling depressed?" Laxus immediately assumed, "I gave you medicine, right?...maybe you should sleep."

"It's...not...that." Gajeel scratched his head, "I just...y-you've been talking to…" _No. You've said too much. _"It's nothing, really."

Laxus leaned over and pulled Gajeel towards him. He resisted. Laxus sighed, knowing something was wrong. Not letting go, Laxus moved towards his face, now laying over him, and kissed his forehead. He moved to his cheek, then his neck. Gajeel was red again. Laxus whispered, "What's wrong?"

The whisper made Gajeel shudder. He covered his mouth to prevent from moaning in the sweet pleasure as Laxus continued kissing his cheek. Laxus stopped, looking him in the eyes, waiting for his answer. Gajeel knew he wouldn't stop until he got his answer. "I thought...you were…"

"...?" He raised an eyebrow, surprised. He wasn't actually expecting an answer.

"...Mirajane."

"What about her?"

"You keep talking to her."

"So?" He laughed, "What's wrong with Mira?"

"You...you make it look like-"

"You're not jealous of Mira are you?" He guessed. Laxus moved and rested next to Gajeel. He sighed and layed down with him. Laxus, slowly, wrapped his hands around Gajeel's waist, "You don't have to be jealous," He whispered in his ear again, "I wouldn't choose her over you, okay? Promise."

"I...oh...okay."

He let it go. No, he didn't, but Gajeel still rested on Laxus' chest. I guess Laxus liked him back. Today was weird. Stressful, sure, but it was weird. He kissed him earlier. He kissed his forehead, his cheek, his _neck, his lips, _and Gajeel did nothing to stop him. He accepted it.

* * *

The stars twinkled in the clear sky. Gajeel looked out the window as he rested in the bed with Laxus laying under him. They were sprawled on the bed in awkward positions. Gajeel rested on the pillow with both of Laxus' feet on each side of him. Laxus rested on the other side of the bed, one arm off the bed, the other on Gajeel's leg. Gajeel scratched his head and continued to look out the window, then soon turned to the clock beside the bed, sitting on a white desk beside a catalog of all sorts of restaurants. It was 3:00am.

Sighing, Gajeel got up, ensuring not to wake up Laxus, and moved through the short hallway and into the small kitchen. The fridge held food they bought from home. There was beer, along with some soda, and a bunch of yogurt. Why did Laxus have so much yogurt? Whatever.

He took one labeled, "Cherry Pie" and opened the small seal, revealing a red and cream-colored swirl with thick pieces of fruit, likely cherries, in the little plastic cup. Okay, looks satisfying. Gajeel dug through a plastic bag that was sitting on the counter and grabbed a plastic spoon.

Gajeel understood why he had so many of these.

He closed the lid and sat on the counter (which wasn't much room, but oh well, he made best of it) and continued to eat his snack, freezing when he heard Laxus groan from the room. Laxus moved around in the bed before finally falling back to sleep. Gajeel let out a sigh in relief, but why was he so worried about Laxus finding him? Why was he doing this at all, eating at such an early hour? Gajeel brushed it off and jumped off the counter, opening the cabinet he'd been leaning on. Chips, cookies, and taffy from Mirajane. Mira…

They seemed to talk to each other a lot since she'd came into town. They were talking on the phone back at home, and he could have sworn he saw them talking when Laxus was on his way to work. She'd been really...prominent lately. She talked to Laxus a lot, and Laxus talked to Gajeel...less. No, that's not true. He SAID that Gajeel didn't have to be jealous, but he still _was._ What was wrong with him?

He grabbed the cookies and migrated to the love couch, turning on the TV but keeping it at a low volume. He was stressed. He was tired. He was stressed. The news showed promising weather for the afternoon. Gajeel looked outside the window to his right and could clearly see the beach. Empty, save for people at a small fire. The waves were crashing down, and the moon shone brightly over it, half full. He looked at the now empty yogurt cup and threw it at the TV screen, covering his face and pulling his legs up to his chest. His face was red and his eyes were shut, tight, what was he doing?

He didn't feel well. He felt sick. He felt like he had to throw...up. No, he didn't. He wouldn't do that to himself again. Gajeel opened his eyes. There was his father, on his torn, brown leather seat. He took a swig of his drink and stood, stumbling towards him. He was drunk, again. Gajeel uncovered his face to look at the man standing above him.

Gajeel was scared. He shivered in fear that his father would do something. He hated him when he was drunk. He hated what he went through when his father was drunk. Gajeel bit his lip, tasting the blood that seeped down his nose. His father leaned in, wiping the blood from his cheeks and smearing it on his own shirt.

"You're a mess," He said with a scratchy voice before downing the rest of his drink and tossing the bottle aside, " What's wrong with ya' huh? Ya' gotta take this shit like a man, boy."

Gajeel just stared as he walked away to the kitchen, probably for another bottle. "C'mere!" His father yelled. Gajeel jumped up and did as told, quickly walking to the kitchen. It was disgusting in there; mold and dirt on the walls, dust along the floors and dirty dishes towering in the kitchen sink. His father Just had guests. They were playing poker. Gajeel hid himself upstairs before one of his drunk friends found him in his room. His body ached everywhere.

"What is this?" His father asked, motioning to the dishes. Gajeel kept quiet as his father grabbed him by the long end of his hair. The shaved end revealed blood. His father was disgusted.

"Clean this shit," He said, letting go of Gajeel's hair and leaving the bathroom. Gajeel leaned over the sink, feeling nausea. As soon as he heard the front door close, Gajeel turned around and grabbed his medicine, and a bottle of water, and ran upstairs for the bathroom.

There was mold and dirt in the tub as well. The tiles were falling apart and cracked, and the paint along the walls chaffed. Gajeel downed pill after pill until his poor stomach finally had a reaction. He threw up in the toilet. He was wheezing and coughing, gasping for air in between. He started crying. It hurt, but he stayed.

The door opened and closed again an hour later, but he stayed.

A moment of silence and finally, his father opened the bathroom door, the door hitting Gajeel slightly. He stared at his son before kneeling down and holding up his head, wiping away the mess with a towel. He was sober again.

_Thank god. Thank god._

He put a hand on Gajeel's back and let Gajeel sit up, not taking his eyes off the mess he'd made. He did it again. His father sighed, "Come with me."

Hesitating, Gajeel stood up and followed him downstairs to the kitchen. His father grabbed a wet sponge and one of the dishes in the sink, scrubbing it thoroughly and roughly, rinsing it, and putting the dish on the drying rack beside the sink. Gajeel took his own sponge and did the same. They were quiet. Gajeel still ached.

"Are you okay?"

Gajeel looked up at his father, who didn't look back at him.

"Dude, Gajeel, what are you doing?"

"Huh?"

* * *

Gajeel looked up from the couch. Laxus was standing above him. He sat beside Gajeel and pulled him over, "Why are you over here?"

"Um…" Gajeel sat up, "I don't...know…" Below him were crumbs and the small empty yogurt carton. The bag of cookies was empty and on the floor. He was a mess. Gajeel held his head, "I don't know."

That was a lie, he knew. Laxus sat back and looked at him, "Are you okay?"

"I...I think so...yeah." No.

"Did you want medicine?"

Gajeel really didn't want to take medicine. He didn't even want to think about the medicine. Without it now, though, he felt very small and weak. It was for the best. He nodded. Laxus stood up and headed for the bathroom, "We're going to the beach later, okay?"

"Yeah."

Maybe it would take his mind off of things.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: _Sorry the update was so late; lack of inspiration and a super busy schedule made this very hard to write. I'm trying to include everyone as much as possible, I really am! So if anyone didn't get much of a line here, they will in the next chapter, I promise! Thank you so much for sticking with me as long as you have! ; v;_**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

There was no crowd at the beach. It was Monday, day two of their trip, and since it was a weekday, not many people were there. Laxus set up an umbrella while Bixlow tossed down his towel, laying on it. Laxus scowled, "Ya' gonna lend a hand?"

"I am _way_ too tired to lend a hand right now, dude," Bixlow responded, yawning and stretching.

"You slept early and you woke up at 9. You slept for twelve hours."

"...I can do better," Bixlow muttered before stretching and scratching his stomach.

Gajeel walked towards the two, wearing new swimming trunks Laxus had bought him. He felt bad, what with all the money Laxus had spent on him, but after a month of it, he really didn't want to tell him that. He shrugged it off and tore off the tag residing on the trunks.

Gajeel watched the two as they bickered about their bullshit. Bixlow looked up, "Hey, Laxus," He whispered, "Look at them, over there."

Further away were the women of the group; Mirajane, holding a camera for Lisanna, taking many pictures of her. "You'd make such a cute model!" She said. Evergreen smiled as she adjusted her shades, standing under an umbrella held by Elfman and Freed, the exceptions if the group.

"Elfman, sweetheart," she muttered, loud enough t for Elfman to hear, "Could you be a dear and rub some sun lotion on my back? I need to keep my skin as healthy as possible, of course!"

"Uh, sure- ah-yes!" Elfman stuttered, handing the umbrella to Freed who almost dropped it, and taking the lotion from Evergreen. She sat down and let him rub the lotion on her. Bixlow cringed, "He's dying out there, I must save him!" He shouted, with exaggeration, receiving a slap on the back by Laxus.

"Go be a hero." Laxus laughed. With that, Bixlow ran off to the girls who shrieked as Lisanna was practically jumped.

"So," Laxus started, turning to Gajeel, "May I offer you a seat?"

"Oh shut the hell up," Gajeel snarled before sitting on the chair Laxus had set up. Laxus grabbed a bag sitting by the umbrella and pulled out a travel mug, decorate with the logo of their city's local college. He took a sip and grinned. "Well that's not fucking water."

"No, Gajeel, why would I go so low as to bring _alcohol_ to the beach?" He said sarcastically, "I am going to enjoy my time here, Gajeel, ya' want some?"

"I- well, yes," Gajeel accepted his offer and drank from the mug. It was beer, very well brewed, and nice and cold. "What is this, from work?"

"They let me keep a stash for myself," Laxus responded, taking back the mug, "A case for work and a case for home. And of course I got another for here," He raised his mug proudly before taking another swig, "And, I've got some more back at the hotel."

"How much did you bring?" Gajeel jumped up.

"Enough," Laxus chuckled in response. At the moment, he was too proud of himself to be drunk. Gajeel snatched the mug, "Am I supposed to act proud of you?"

"Sure, that's cool."

"Ass," He said before taking a sip and returning the travel mug to Laxus. He sighed, feeling a lot more stimulated.

Bixlow came back over to the duo under their umbrella, body covered in sand as if he had it thrown at him. "I smell alcohol," He sang, brushing sand off of his chest. Laxus threw him a mug. He had a bunch of them in his bag; clearly they were not allowed to drink there. Bixlow's mug had a pink and blue gradient. It was his personal mug given to him by Lisanna.

"So, you're just gonna let yourselves get drunk?" Gajeel said, standing back up and looking down at Laxus, "In a public place? Where you aren't even allowed to get drunk?"

"Yes."

"Dumbass." Gajeel teased, kicking his chair and almost making Laxus fall over. Laxus laughed.

"Have a little fun, maybe, Gajeel?"

Don't take this the wrong way; he wanted alcohol. He very much wanted some beer, but he didn't have a mug of his own, and he definitely wasn't going to share it with Laxus anymore now that Bixlow was here. Was he going to ask Laxus to buy him a mug? No, hell no, Gajeel was in debt to him already. Didn't really look like he cared about it, obviously, but Gajeel did care.

He sat back down and watched the two as they slowly grew drunk. Laxus and Bixlow laughed, watching the girls play around in the water. They clinked their mugs together; "Cheers for hot babes," Bixlow yelled proudly. He downed the rest of his beer faster than Laxus and moved to the bag to sneak a refill from a well-hidden bottle. Eventually, Laxus handed over his mug to Gajeel.

"Ya' wanna finish this?"

Gajeel looked at Bixlow then back at Laxus, "No."

"Yeah, you do," Laxus confirmed, grinning and handing him the mug before standing and walking towards the girls, soon followed by Bixlow. Gajeel remained seated under the umbrella, staring at the mug. It would be embarrassing to drink this-then again, Bixlow left. Gajeel downed the rest of the beer and relaxed into the chair.

He wanted to keep the relationship secret; He was weirded out and uncomfortable. Gajeel wiped sweat off his face and closed his eyes, "What the fuck man," He mumbled shortly before drifting off.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

"Nothin'," Gajeel said to the man above him as he played with the small trinket in his hands. Gears from the watch he'd earlier taken apart sat on the table beside the ragged couch where he'd sat. His small hands moved along the gear as he observed the texture. The man sighed and sat beside Gajeel.

"Takin'' shit apart again, huh?" He mumbled, wrapping his arms around Gajeel, "Y'know, I used to do that too, just take things apart, look at the pieces, and put 'em back together. Somedays, I'd make new stuff." The man picked up a larger gear from the table and held it in front of Gajeel's face, "I tried to make a robot once."

"Did...did it work?" Gajeel asked, staring at the gear the older man held.

"Hell no," He laughed, "Eh, not worth it; materials were too expensive 'nd I had no clue what I was doing."

"I wish I could make a robot some day," Gajeel said as he leaned on the man's side, "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that?" He pointed to the metal bottle in his father's pocket. His father pushed it deeper in, out of Gajeel's sight.

"Not worth it, kid."

He stood up, ruffled Gajeel's head and walked towards the kitchen, "Not worth it."

* * *

"Gajeel?"

"Dad…?"

"Gajeel!"

Gajeel almost sprang from his seat and yelped, but was held down by Laxus. He sighed in relief. How long had he been asleep? It was still bright outside, so it shouldn't have been too long, right?

"We're going to the boardwalk for some food, you wanna come?"

He definitely wasn't staying here alone, "S-sure," Gajeel said, standing and folding his chair.

The group headed for the hotel to put away their beach items. Laxus watched Gajeel as he grabbed his clothes to change into. He closed the door to the bedroom and took off his swimming trunks.

"You got a tan?"

Gajeel yelped in surprise, covering himself as much as possible. "What the hell!?" He yelled, "You can't just come in here when I'm fucking changing!"

"Says who?" Laxus asked, leaning on the doorframe. He grinned at Gajeel's frantic movements to cover himself. He then moved in and grabbed Gajeel by the shoulders and shook him, "Relax, Gajeel," He teased before throwing himself on the bed, "Have I not known you long enough?"

"You…you've only known me for like, just over a month!" Gajeel countered, finally getting hold of his pants and yanking them up, much to Laxus'-hidden-disappointment. Regardless, he brushed it off, sitting beside the larger man who rolled towards to other side of the bed to make room. Gajeel lifted his legs onto the bed and rested on the frame, examining his room. The walls were decorated with framed seashells and blue paint. The TV was smaller than the one in Laxus' room, which explains why he'd chosen that room. The floor was carpeted with a navy blue saxony carpet. Laxus' room had similar qualities, but a green color scheme.

_And a bigger TV._

Laxus sat up and leaned over to Gajeel, whose gaze continued to wander around the small bedroom. He moved in front of his face with the hopes of distracting him, "Oi, Gajeel."

"What?" Gajeel answered, turning to him.

"You wanna go?" He asked.

"..Yeah, yeah." Gajeel stood from the bed and headed for the door, Laxus right behind him.

"Hey."

"Yeah..?" Gajeel turned to him, awkwardly.

"Your tan ain't that bad." He teased again. Gajeel groaned, annoyed, and turned back around, walking to the door of their hotel. Laxus laughed at his reaction and followed him, closing and locking the door.

They were in the hallway. The walls were painted a cream color with a jade border-not a good combination of colors to Gajeel but not something to let bother him; the hotel was pretty decent. The floor had a green berber carpeting and throughout the hallway were lamps hanging throughout the walls, one beside each hotel room door. They reached the elevator. The walls were covered in blue, striped wallpaper; in the corner on the right, however, the walpaper began to peel, revealing chipping red paint. As the elevator door closed, the silence between the two grew more and more awkward.

Gajeel thought to himself that he should probably say something, however, would Laxus say something? Lets hope for that.

The elevator door opened on the first floor. Gajeel sighed in disappointment, and Laxus looked around the lobby. Behind the counter was a young girl who waved their way. Her hair was curly and dark red, and her small diamond earrings sparkled as they were shined by the small lamp light beside her. Laxus walked over and checked them both out for the night, and announced to her, "We should be back by eleven."

"No problem!" She waved them off, "You have fun now! Enjoy the rest of your evening!"

"Cheery," Gajeel mumbled as they walked out of the sliding doors. The two walked up to the boardwalk where Bixlow and Evergreen waited. "Hey!" Bixlow called, waving his arms at them.

"Anything?" Laxus asked.

"Nah," Bixlow sighed, "But...we found…"

"Taffy," Evergreen finished, annoyed; the rest of the group had gone to the taffy shop right beside them. It was large and had various chocolates and taffies displaying by the window. They were wrapped in a clear plastic back, which was closed by a gold-colored ribbon. The sign read "Tiánmì Sweets; candy - soda - baked goods"

"I mean," Evergreen started, "Why would they go and buy such sugary foods when we're about to eat dinner?"

"Is that not something you would consider dinner?" Bixlow asked, sarcastically.

"Absolutely not! I have to keep my weight thin and myself healthy! And that means NOT eating candy BEFORE dinner! Bixlow, would you stoop so low as to eat candy right before dinner?"

"Are you asking me a legitimate question?"

"...no." She said before giving up and entering the shop. The rest followed and were welcomed with the scent of fudge being cooked to their right by a man in a pink chef's coat. A woman wearing a darker pink t-shirt stepped in front of the four with a platter of small squares of fudge.

"Free samples?" She asked them. Evergreen denied, but Bixlow happily took the offer. Laxus grabbed two and handed one to Gajeel.

"Eat this with me," He said. Gajeel took it and did so.

It was sweet.

* * *

They left the shop with bags of candy and an annoyed Evergreen. "Well?" She turned to them, "Are you still hungry? After all of those free samples? Hmm?"

They looked at each other and nodded. Evergreen sighed, "Lets...go find a damn place to eat," she grumbled.

The boardwalk was full of colorful shops and diners. Eventually, the group had chosen a burger restaurant, which sold their food in large scales. Bixlow, overjoyed, ran into the room and took a seat, as the restaurant was empty for the moment anyway. Laxus put a palm to his head, "Aren't ya' supposed to wait, dumbass?"

"Just come inside!" Bixlow yelled, excited. They entered the tiled room and sat in the corner of the restaurant, on the cushioned red chairs. A man can up to them, dressed in a black and white striped button-up shirt, with black khakis and a red bow tie. His hair was slicked back, as if like a greaser. He looked up from the small notepad from his hand and greeted them, "Good evening! How may I help you?"

Laxus looked at Bixlow, then at the young waiter, "Drinks?"

"Sure!" He said cheerfully, "We offer lemonade, iced tea-"

"I'll take an iced tea," Evergreen interrupted, "And with a lemon slice, possibly?"

"No problem!" He answered, writing the order down quickly, "We also serve grape and orange soda-"

"Orange," Laxus said, everyone else nodded in agreement, except for Gajeel.

"I'll take a grape."

"Excellent!" He cheered, writing their orders down and looking up from his notes once more, "I will return to take your orders shortly."

The group was silent as the waiter walked back into the kitchen. Gajeel stuck his leg out into the aisle and gazed out the door, all the way on the other side of the restaurant. The sun was still setting, revealing a pink tint to the sky and clouds. He could see very few stars, and an airplane flying with an ad strapped to the back. The ad was indistinct, as Gajeel was too far away to read it.

The drinks arrived and they each ordered the same burger, save for Evergreen; a large double cheeseburger with bacon and lettuce-the one healthy thing in the meal-served with fries. Evergreen ordered a small veggie burger, no fries. "She must keep her figure," Bixlow mocked before he was slapped with a glove. Gajeel continued to look out the entrance as the waiter left and returned with their dinner.

A large was probably not a good idea, however they were still "starving." The burger appeared to take up half the plate, while the fries filled the rest of it. Bixlow dove in immediately and Lisanna took small bites of her fries. Laxus lifted it up and turned to Gajeel, "You okay, man?"

He snapped out of his gaze and turned to meet Laxus' eyes, "Y-yeah, I'm fine," he said before beginning to eat. Laxus shrugged it off, taking a large bite of his burger.

Bixlow dropped the other half of the burger and rested back in his seat. He sighed loudly, yawning and catching his breath; he'd eaten so much and so fast. Lisanna watched as her mate rested an ar on his stomach. "You okay?" She asked as she ate more of her food. He only nodded, "I…" he began before panting, "I need a break."

"Oh, it's all the fudge!" Evergreen exclaimed, "I told you that was a terrible idea!"

"Bixlow, maybe you should have listened," Lisanna agreed, "Though I still can't finish my meal myself! I'll...take it with me, maybe."

"C'mon, baby, you ate candy too," Bixlow whined, groaning over his full stomach. Laxus laughed at his friend's misery.

"No dumbass," Laxus said, "Lisanna had samples of candy. You had a box full of candy. And half a burger."

"Whatever," Bixlow groaned, sinking in his seat, "Elfman's not too hot, either."

They looked at elfman who had dropped his burger, too full to eat as well. "Untrue!" Elfman countered, "A real man eats all of his food!" He then tore at his burger and-almost forcefully-swallowed it. He dropped it once more, confirming that he could no longer eat.

Laxus was the first to finish his food and later Gajeel. Evergreen finished and ordered dessert to take home; a small apple pie. The rest packed their food in small containers to save for later. Mirajane and Freed stood, "I'll take Elfman back to the room," Mirajane said as she helped him stand up. Laxus nodded, paying the bills they'd received for their food. Lisanna and a reluctant Evergreen pulled Bixlow from his seat.

"Then we'll handle Bixlow!" Lisanna said, struggling to lift him from his seat. Evergreen huffed, "Honestly, must you have us drag you two!?"

They group split, leaving Gajeel and Laxus alone. It was dark, and the sky was clear. The two looked on to the crowd before them, walking through shops and going on rides. Laxus looked down at Gajeel, "You wanna go?" he asked.

"I...sure, whatever." Gajeel shrugged in response. They walked into the large crowd. The lights around them slowly faded into different colors, illuminating the area from a yellow light to a blue light. As the light turned green, they sat on a bench beside the entrance to the beach. Gajeel turned around to see a small fire on the beach, surrounded by a group of people, singing loudly. He watched them dance on the sand and spill drinks everywhere. Gajeel turned back around, "Fuckin' crazy," he muttered, leaning forward and resting his arms on his legs.

Across from him was a small ice cream shop with a really long line full of tired parents and screaming children. Regardless, the employees seemed happy to be there. Next to the shop was another fudge parlor. So many people, so much noise.

"How annoying," Laxus muttered, loud enough for Gajeel to hear. He nodded slightly. Gajeel sat up and leaned into the seat, looking up into the sky. Seagulls floated above them in a group, like vultures.m a little boy began crying, and Gajeel looked down to see that some asshole had taken it and threw it on the roof of a store. As the teen was beaten by the boys mother with her purse, one of the birds swooped down to lick the ice cream.

It was a bat.

Gajeel immediately looked back up and recognized the shape of their wings, confirming that they were definitely bats. "Holy shit," he said. Laxus looked up to see the bats, all floating in a circle.

"Oh."

"They're like fuckin' vultures," Gajeel said.

"At least they aint seagulls," Laxus said before adjusting his position in the seat, "Must be really late."

Laxus watched as Gajeel stared at the bats above them. He'd been in a trance all day. He decided to get his attention again.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Gajeel looked up at the man beside him. Laxus leaned over, slowly, placing his forehead on Gajeel's. He cupped his face with his hands and kissed his lips, softly. The touches were light and gentle. Gajeel couldn't get a sense of what was going on. His eyes were wide open. Laxus broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes. He giggled, "Why the hell're you surprised?"

"You...I-why did you…" Gajeel struggled to form a sentence. Laxus laughed and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Let's go back," He whispered in his ear. Gajeel sat frozen before being pulled out of the seat by Laxus, patting his back and pushing him along. His arm rested on Gajeel's shoulders as they returned to the hotel. The woman at the desk yawned as she welcomed the two back. Laxus signed them back in and ed Gajeel to the elevator.

This elevator's wallpaper wasn't peeling. The color was orange and the floor had red tile flooring. Laxus ruffled Gajeel's hair, teasingly. Gajeel held his hands in his hair, and glared at his laughing partner until the elevator door opened. They both went silent as they ran into Evergreen.

"Thank god, there you are!" She called for them. The two looked at each other and stepped out of the elevator.

"Bixlow got himself sick, the fool," she scoffed, "The chocolates gave him stomach cramps; one had peanut putter. Seems like he has a peanut allergy." Evergreen adjusted her glasses.

"Well, fuck," Gajeel muttered. Laxus put a hand to his forehead.

"Anything about Elfman?" He asked her. She sighed.

"So does he. They're staying for a day, tomorrow. I'm not letting them embarrass me more by letting them walk around a puking mess, those men are disgusting."

"...Alright, fine no problem," Laxus said, scratching his head, "We'll go out alone, then?" he turned to Gajeel, who shrugged.

"Yeah, fine," Gajeel grunted in response before being softly punched in the arm. As Evergreen stormed back into her room with Lisanna and Bixlow, Laxus lifted Gajeel up and held him in his arms against his chest, grinning.

"That means we'll be left alone, Gajeel."

Gajeel processed what was being said to him, and blushed as he was carried to their room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Laxus closed the door behind them.

The room was quiet. The hallway was silent. Not a single sound was made that the two could hear. Laxus places his lips, softly, on Gajeel's head and carried him through the room to his bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot, quietly, and gently placed Gajeel on the bed before going back to close the door. He turned on the lamp and rested beside Gajeel. They looked into each other's eyes. Gajeel bit his lip, and turned away.

The clock read 11:18pm. The window had been closed and the blinds covered them, so the room had only been lit by the lamp. He felt a hand reach and slowly grab at his hips, pulling him over. Gajeel shuddered as that same hand caressed his face while another on his stomach. He felt the man behind him breathe on his neck.

"Laxus?"

Gajeel was pulled up and rested on top of Laxus. His eyes were wide open. Laxus grinned, putting a hand through his hair and watching him shudder and bite his lip again. "Why don't you sit up?" He offered.

Hesitant, Gajeel sat up, brushing long strands of hair out of his face and avoiding eye contact with the man below him. He blushed as he realized he was now sitting on the man's crotch region. Gajeel looked up at him, "What are... you doing to me?"

Grinning, Laxus responded, "What do you want me to do to you?"

Gajeel's blush grew an even deeper red. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. Laxus sat up and pushed himself against the bedframe. Gajeel watched as he removed his shirt and tossed it aside. Laxus held Gajeel's chin and pulled him over for a kiss. His lips were warm and sweet; he must've eaten taffy before now. He broke the kiss and watched Gajeel tremble.

"Do you want more?" Laxus whispered in his ear. Gajeel gulped and nodded before Laxus nipped at his ear. Gajeel gasped quietly while Laxus trailed his lips down to his neck, and above his chest. He looked up to see the smaller man tremble as he held a hand to his mouth. Laxus pulled up Gajeel's shirt and kissed and played with his nipples. Gajeel's gasps grew louder and into soft moans. Pleased, Laxus pulled off the other's shirt. He held Gajeel's hand and kissed it, "Are you alright?" he asked.

Gajeel nodded. Laxus smiled, "Lets just enjoy our alone time while we have it, Gajeel."

Nodding, Gajeel leaned in and rested on Laxus' shoulder while the other undid his partner's pants. He pulled them down slowly and let Gajeel climb out. Laxus tossed them aside and grabbed at Gajeel's ass, gently squeezing and listening as Gajeel moaned over the sensation. He pulled down the underwear and kept squeezing, and later began kissing Gajeel's neck. Laxus pulled the underwear off, "Sit up, Gajeel," he said.

"I know what to do," Gajeel grunted, sitting up and undoing his partner's pants. He pulled them down and revealed Laxus' covered member, which slowly hardened as he'd stroked it slowly. Gajeel pulled it out of the fly of his boxers and continued stroking until it stood, hard. His breathing grew heavy, "S-should I?" he asked, awkwardly.

Laxus chuckled, "Whatever, man." He reached an arm out for Gajeel's head and rubbed his hand through his hair again, moving it from his face. Gajeel's breathing was warm, his lips lightly touching the tip of Laxus' member. He licked and sucked on the tip, eventually going down halfway. He immediately came up, gasping for air.

"Take your time," Laxus reassured. Gajeel nodded and kissed the tip once more. He bobbed his head slowly sucking off Laxus' member and making him shudder, "You're so good," he said, grunting as Gajeel went down further. He gagged and pulled himself back up for air, stroking Laxus' member. Laxus moaned and grabbed Gajeel by the hair and letting him suck him off. He licked and kissed his cock, playing with his balls with his fingers and going back down.

"Fuck yeah," Laxus uttered as the wet sensation made him shiver, "Keep going."

Doing as he was told, he went deeper and deeper, almost making Laxus scream, until he'd coughed out cum and spit it on his partners member. "You done...already?" he breathed.

"N-nah," Laxus answered, "L-lets move on."

Gajeel nodded and licked the other's member clean before being pulled on top of the other. He gazed at Laxus with droopy eyes and a wet, drooling mouth. He looked delicious; Laxus nipped at his chest once more and moved his cock under Gajeel, placing it above his opening.

"B-be slow," Gajeel said, gasping for air.

"Y-eah" Laxus stuttered, pushing Gajeel down until the tip slipped through. He grunted, "You just gonna rely on...on my own fucking spit?"

"I really didn't see this coming," he sighed before pushing Gajeel halfway. Gajeel moaned loudly in both pain and pleasure. Laxus looked up to see him biting his lip. He pulled his head down slightly to kiss his cheek, "You alright?" he asked, pulling him back up.

"Hnn...yeah," Gajeel responded. His breath was so warm, Laxus couldn't resist a kiss. His lips were so wet and soft. He kept kissing Gajeel and pushing him down halfway, pulling him back up and pushing him back down. Laxus let a tongue slip through Gajeel's lips and play with the other.

_"Ah, aha…"_

"Stay quiet," Laxus whispered, "Stay quiet."

_"Mnn, hah…..mhaa…"_

He moved him faster. Gajeel moved his hand to stroke his own member while his other held on to Laxus. Gajeel was eventually pushed all the way down, moaning louder as a sweet spot was hit.

_"Shh,"_ Laxus put a finger to his mouth, "Just...s-stay quiet."

_"Yeah, haah, aah-"_ Gajeel stroked himself harder as he was fucked harder. He was moved to the bed and Laxus moved on top of him. He spread Gajeel's legs and rested them on his shoulders, placing his member through his hole again. He grabbed Gajeels legs and held them as he thrusted into him, this time roughly. Gajeel grabbed at the bed, turning his head and biting at the pillow to keep from screaming.

"Oh, yeah, just like that," Laxus said while thrusting over and over, in and out of Gajeel as he moaned for more pleasure. Laxus rested one of Gajeels legs back on the bed, and used his now free hand to stroke Gajeel's throbbing cock. Their faces were flushed red and and their breaths grew warmer with the intense heat. Finally, Gajeel released, and soon Laxus. Gajeel panted, releasing the pillow sheet from his mouth. Laxus dropped his other leg and stood from the bed, dropping his pants to the floor.

"Move over," he said, wrapping Gajeel in the blanket as he rolled him to the other side of the bed. He joined the other for rest, "You okay?"

"Mm hmm," he responded, falling asleep fast. Laxus wrapped his arms around the other and soon fell asleep with him. "Good," he mumbled, nuzzling the other sleeping form.

* * *

Laxus arose the next morning to find Gajeel missing. He yawned and scratched his head, "Gajeel?" he called. There was no response, and, worried, he stood up and searched around the hotel room. The space felt smaller than usual, and...looked smaller than usual. He opened the bathroom door to find a rather horrific mess on the floor.

Bottles of beer had been smashed and glass scattered all over the floor. There was blood, and vomit. Laxus felt nauseous and tripped slamming the door, landing on the hardwood floor. "Shit, shit, shit," he repeated as he ran outside the room.

The hallway was much more narrow than he'd recalled. It looked like it shrank towards the end, and his vision was shaky. Laxus felt dizzy. As he ran down, the hallway darkened and he could eventually see absolutely nothing but a door. A white door, so bright in fact it appeared to glow. The door handle was sparkling gold, and shined bright; he had to open the door.

What the fuck is going on?

"Gajeel where the hell are you…?" he muttered, looking around the surrounding darkness. Laxus turned back around and, desperate, opened the door.

There he was.

Gajeel. He was floating. His long hair flowed as he floated in nothingness. He looked magnificent, innocent he must admit, but why? Laxus stepped in the room, only to be lifted up by what felt like water. Was that was this was? Is this water or air? What is going on?

As Laxus reached Gajeel and lightly caressed his cheek, he opened his eyes. They fluttered. His skin was cold and his stare was blank. Gajeel looked dead. Laxus bounced back at the feeling, but soon cupped his chin in his large hands. Something was wrong, but he couldn't speak.

_Why the fuck can't he speak?_

* * *

"Laxus? What the hell're you doing?"

"What…?"

Gajeel rested below him, wrapped up in the blanket staring at him as if he'd grown a third eye. Laxus, blushing, threw himself off of the other and accidentally landed on the floor. Gajeel sat up and pulled the blanket off of him, revealing his naked body.

"Ah, shit, that's right," Gajeel said, recalling the events of last night, "That's...right."

They both stared at each other, awkwardly. _That _happened last night They just agreed to having sex with each other. Their faces grew red and they looked away from each other.

"I'm...gonna shower," Laxus said as he headed for the bathroom, refusing to make eye contact with Gajeel.

"Y-yeah," Gajeel responded, keeping his head turned. He felt embarrassed, ashamed, yet pleased. Very pleased. Satisfied by every touch Laxus left on him. He felt as though he could still taste Laxus' lips; as if he could feel his lips on his own right now...but he felt ashamed. Somehow, what he'd just done was wrong.

Not wanting to think about that, Gajeel stood, pulling his underwear back on and rushed to the small kitchen, grabbing a beer bottle from the fridge. He sat on the couch and downed the bottle, sighing. "Fine," he grunted as he sat. Laxus exited the shower covered only with a bath towel and a toothbrush in his mouth.

"What's up?" he greeted Gajeel, who only grunted in response. Teasingly, Laxus flicked water from his hand to Gajeel's face.

"What the hell?" Gajeel jolted up, "Fucking dry our hands asshole!"

Laxus laughed, running across the room, holding on to his towel into the kitchen for a water bottle, "Drinking alcohol? In the morning?" he questioned Gajeel, sarcastically, "Tsk, tsk, Gajeel. Shame on you."

"Oh shut the fuck up, Laxus," He responded before finishing off his drink and handing Laxus the bottle. "So...what now?"

"...I...I dunno," Laxus scratched his head, "Should we ...go to the beach again?"

"Sure, yeah," Gajeel stood from his seat and stretched, heading for the bathroom.

"Just the two of us, for a whole day, huh…" Gajeel muttered to himself. He really didn't want to think about what happened last night, but being alone with the man wasn't helping. This wasn't supposed to happen at all. He was just supposed to move in, get a job, start a new life; not have sex with his fucking roommate! That's all they were supposed to be right? Just..._roommates_.

That sounded lonely. He'd already admitted to loving him, after all. Why stop now? Gajeel turned on the showerhead and undressed, stepping in and lathering his body with a lavender soap bar.

Meanwhile, Laxus had pulled on a pair of shorts and thrown himself on the couch. "Fuckin' crazy," he said holding his head as he remembered the dream he had, "Makes no fuckin' sense…what even was that?" Laxus took a sip of his half full bottle of water. In that dream, Gajeel looked so...so dead. Why was that? "Probably just some bullshit nightmare…"

Laxus held a hand to his face; It got hot really fast. As Gajeel exited the bathroom, now dressed, Laxus stood up, "You wanna improve your tan?" He flirted. Gajeel wrapped his hands around his body, huffing. Amused, Laxus lifted Gajeel's shirt to reveal the tanlines between his stomach and his crotch.

"Fuck off!" Gajeel shouted, pushing him away, much to Laxus' amusement. Laxus grabbed a white t-shirt and pushed him along. "Go get out beach towels," he instructed, "and hurry the hell up, I'm ready to go."

He pulled on the shirt and took out a pair of shades, placing them over his head. Gajeel walked out of the bedroom holding two beach towels and a chair. "Yer' gonna make me carry all this by myself?"

"Yes, but if you want, you can hold that, and I'll carry you?"

"..._No_," Gajeel denied, walking towards the door. Smiling, Laxus followed him to the elevator. The two would be alone for a whole day. A whole day. This sounded promising to the both, though, somehow, they still felt like it would all backfire horribly. Laxus wanted to make the most of it.

* * *

They rested their towels on the sand. The beach today had less people than yesterday. The air was so warm and bought in the scent of the ocean. Gajeel sat down on his towel and brushed hair from his face, watching as Laxus did the same. They gave each other a look.

"Don't let me sleep for too long," Gajeel said. Laxus nodded in response, and the two rested back onto their towels. Laxus pulled out a waterbottle and a magazine, and rolled over onto his stomach to read. Various women in all sorts of bikinis decorated the pages. One woman in particular wore a very small, blue bikini that barely covered her breasts, with white frills and stripes. Her hair was long and red, curly and tied up with a blue bow. She sat in the sand with a large beach ball by her side and a sunhat in her hand. She waved it in the air, smiling. Laxus only raised an eyebrow before turning the page.

The next page showed three girls; each in red bikinis and holding water guns. The one standing in the middle was shorter, and had her hair pinned up, while the other taller girls had their hair down. They looked related but that could also have been makeup. Handing no outward reaction to the girls, Laxus turned the page.

A young, white-haired girl sat in a yellow, frilly bandeau bikini sat on a rock being splashed by the waves of the ocean. Mirajane Strauss, posing cross legged on the rock and waving into the camera. Her soft grin made Laxus' eyebrow rise. She looked nice, as she always did, but right now, she looked _nice_ nice. Nonetheless, he turned to the final page, which was an ad featuring their calendars.

Gajeel awoke just minutes later, and turned to the other, who pulled out another magazine. He looked down at his own body to see that he'd tan fairly well, and turned over to rest on his stomach. "If y' really wanna look at chicks in bikinis, look up." he said as he turned over.

"Shut up," Laxus laughed, patting his back, "Go even your tan somewhere else if you're so annoyed."

"Mnn," Gajeel grumbled before falling back to sleep.

The next few minutes were quiet. Laxus flipped through two magazines and falling asleep himself. Gajeel awoke, standing and brushing sand off of his legs. He looked at the figure below him, snoring loudly. "No one wants to hear that," he mumbled as he sat back down, poking the other, "Yo, Laxus."

"Oi," Laxus sat up, wiping drool off his cheek and looking at Gajeel, "What? You done?"

"Uh huh," He nodded. Laxus looked at Gajeel's darkened skin, grinning, and reaching for his trunks, "Lets see those tan lines," He flirted.

"Oh- no!" Gajeel yelped, pushing him away, "Do you have to...ugh," He groaned and sat back down, grabbing one of the magazines and smacking him with it. Laxus turned his body to face Gajeel and leaned in, pecking his neck.

"You should show me later then," he whispered, making Gajeel shudder. He was pushed the way once more. Gajeel covered his face, "you're...just gonna do this all the time ain't you…"

"Only when we're alone, I promise," Laxus said, patting his back. Though, being alone became rather boring and uneventful fast. The others were still dealing with Bixlow and Elfman's illnesses. The beach was almost totally empty, and the only sounds they heard were the seagulls and the ocean waves. Laxus scooched over, unbeknownst to Gajeel, and leaned in once more, kissing his cheek. Gajeel yelped again in surprise, but held still as his wrists were grabbed. Gajeel was pulled in for a kiss. He moved to sit on Laxus' lap, letting him touch his tanned chest. His lips moved around his neck and chest before letting go.

"You're crazy," he said.

"You kissed me," Gajeel responded, moving from his lap.

Laxus wanted him more. Their night alone made Gajeel more irresistible, and he wanted it all again. He remembered his face as he trusted into him, and wanted to see it again. Gajeel brushed hair from his face.

"You want to go back in?"

"...I do," Gajeel nodded. Laxus wrapped their towels and grabbed his magazines. They walked back to their hotel room.

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter got a bit long (for me, at least) so I'm just gonna stop here. Hopefully I'll be motivated to write more of this later. Also sorry for not updating as often as I used to. ; v; Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Gajeel flopped onto the bed of Laxus' room, still tired. Laxus followed, closing the door behind him. "You're already going back to sleep?" He asked. Gajeel nodded.

"It's fun."

Gajeel rested on his stomach and shut his eyes. Laxus moved to lay beside him, watching Gajeel fall asleep. He turned to wrap his arms around Gajeel and pulled him closer. They'd both fallen asleep shortly after.

In the room across the hall, Evergreen paced as Elfman groaned over his stomach cramps, laying on the small couch. "Must you be so loud!?" She yelled at him. He only groaned more in response, and she sighed, "Well I _sure _hope those other two are having a good time. I could have even gotten new shoes, or a skirt at the boardwalk, but no! I have to deal with both of you." She turned to Bixlow who sat unconscious on a nearby chair.

"He talks to Gajeel a lot, don't you think?" Lisanna pointed out about Laxus, "What do you think they're doing?"

"He's probably another Bixlow; they're drinking, no doubt about it." Evergreen complained.

"He's pretty quiet," Mirajane mentioned, "How close do you think they are? They haven't known each other that long y'know."

"Yeah, true," Evergreen agreed. Bixlow piped up, "Oh!" He fell off the chair, overly excited.

"What?" Evergreen looked at him, disappointed. Bixlow stood and started, "Laxus said he l-...wait," he stopped, "No...wait."

"Why did you stop?" Mirajane asked.

"Uh," Bixlow twiddled his fingers as he remembered to keep his mouth shut about the two. "Well...y'know what? nevermind, I'm going back to sleep!" He said as he plopped back on his chair and threw his head back , fakely and loudly snoring. Evergreen huffed, kicking the chair over and making him fall. She's had enough of dealing with him.

"Well," Lisanna began, moving towards Evergreen, "We haven't seen him all day! We could at least check up on him!"

"Perhaps we should," Evergreen agreed, "I do feel like we're interrupting his vacation by dealing with...them," She scowled, turning towards the two who sunk further into their seats.

"Wait...maybe we...shouldn't? Uh- wait-" Bixlow stopped again. "God you're an idiot…" he muttered to himself.

"Why not?" Mirajane asked. The attention was back on Bixlow. He felt a beam of sweat fall from his forehead. Bixlow stood up to scratch his head and inched his way to the bathroom.

"...He escaped." Lisanna said.

Evergreen sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, "Let's just go."

* * *

It was 3:30 in the afternoon. Evergreen, yawning, knocked on the door to Laxus' hotel room. "Laxus san?" Mirajane called, but to no avail, "Maybe they went out?"

"Maybe...let's go inside." Evergreen said, pulling out the keys to their room.

"Where did you get that?" Bixlow asked, panicked. Who even knows what they could be doing in there? What with Laxus liking Gajeel, they could be doing anything in there! Evergreen turned to him.

"Found it in your dirty shorts." She responded. He sighed in quiet despair.

"We're coming in!" Evergreen yelled, finally opening the door.

The room was silent. The TV was off, the windows were closed and the blinds were shut. Evergreen turned the lights on, searching the room. "Are they even here?" She questioned. Lisanna walked towards the bedroom doors, "Maybe Laxus is in here?"

"Should we invade?" Bixlow jumped, gaining all attention, "Well-uh-I mean, if Laxus were in there! Don't you think-"

"Only one way to find out!" Lisanna said, opening the door. Bixlow jumped in front of her, "Wait a sec-!"

However it was too late, as the door had already been opened and the two in the bed were awake. Everyone remained quiet as the shock had settled throughout the room. Bixlow felt beams of sweat fall from his face as he turned around to see Laxus in bed with Gajeel, his arms wrapped around the other. Gajeel looked at the group, most of his hair in his face, hiding his blush. He bit his lip, slowly turning towards Laxus. His glare was felt around the room as he stood from the bed.

"Get out."

His orders were quickly followed. The group ran for the door, leaving the hotel room for theirs, in silence. Evergreen held a hand on her mouth. They shivered as his face then was left in their minds; they were terrified and in shock.

"Bixlow…?" Lisanna whispered, "What's going on?"

At this point, he felt like he'd have no choice but to explain. "Yeah...okay." He sat on the couch beside a confused Elfman, sighing as the concerned group gave him their attention once again. They sat on the floor, in front of the couch; Freed clutched on to a pillow from the bedroom. Laxus was his best friend and he promised to keep this a secret, but what could he keep a secret now?

"Laxus and Gajeel...they might...be dating-?"

"They're _dating!?_" Elfman jumped up in shock, interrupting Bixlow.

"They_ MIGHT_ be," he said, "He said...well, he told me that he...had some kind of uh...some feelings for Gajeel and…"

"So he's gay." Evergreen huffed. Bixlow put a hand to his head, "No-well I don't really KNOW if he's totally gay! He just...He likes Gajeel. A lot I guess. And he asked me to kinda keep it a secret."

"Why so? What's the big deal?" Freed asked. Bixlow shrugged, "I guess he's just not ready to tell us yet."

"So they're just...together? Okay…" Mirajane muttered, "And he doesn't want us to know?"

"And from the looks of it, Gajeel didn't... either," He wiped the sweat from his face.

They were quiet again. Mirajane stood, "We should talk to him."

"Woah, wait," Bixlow stopped her, "He's kinda super upset right now, are you sure? I mean...He looked pretty fucking pissed-"

"I know...Laxus likes to keep a lot of things to himself. Now that we've seen it I want him to at least be able to talk to us. I'm going." She brushed off her knees and walked towards the door.

"Well I'm staying." Bixlow announced, crossing his arms. They looked at each other in slight disapproval. "Bixlow!" Lisanna hissed, "Don't!"

"You don't have to come, then. I'll go on my own." And with that, Mirajane headed for the other hotel room.

* * *

She opened the door. The room was once again quiet, as if nothing had previously occurred. She headed for Laxus' bedroom door and knocked, opening it slowly after getting no response. "Laxus?" She called, quietly, "Are you in here?"

Mirajane heard shuffling in the sheets as she opened the door wider. Gajeel was still there, only now he was alone. She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed beside him. "Where is Laxus?" She asked.

"Who knows."

His voice sounded shaky. She reached for the blanket he hid under but stopped as she heard footsteps. She looked up to see Laxus enter the room. He glared at her, "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

"Laxus-"

"I said what the fuck are you doing in here?" He walked closer. Mirajane sighed, standing from the bed.

"I came here to talk to you." She said. Laxus snarled.

"Well maybe I don't want to talk to you."

"But I want to talk to you, Laxus, I really do." Mirajane looked at Gajeel, who peeked from the blanket, only to hide make under once they'd made eye contact. He was embarrassed, for sure. She turned back to Laxus.

"You know this...this really isn't that big of a deal," she tried to convince him, waving her hands in defense, "It's not a bad thing-"

"It might not be a big fucking deal to you but it's a really big fucking deal to me," Laxus said, "It ain't that hard to understand, Mira, this is fucking personal. This is my god damn privacy and you asshats can't just invade my fuckng privacy."

"It was an accident! It really was!"

"So fucking what? You break into my hotel? You waltz right into my bedroom? Is this some kind of joke?" Laxus stormed to the other side of the bedroom, followed by Mirajane who clutched on to her pajama shirt, "No, I-we don't, really! I just...we just made a mistake, and we're really really sorry! We didn't mean to-"

"Didn't mean to what?" Laxus stopped her, "Do what you did? Because it looks like what you shits did was intentional."

"Well we didn't know...we didn't realize-"

"What did Bixlow say?" he asked. Mirajane just stared at her, mouth hung open.

"I said what did Bixlow fucking say!?" He demanded her answer, and when she said nothing he screamed, "What the hell did Bixlow fucking say about me!?"

"I- he didn't...say anything!"

"THAT'S A FUCKING LIE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he punched the wall beside him. As result, a large hole surrounded by cracks was left on the wall. Mirajane said nothing, holding her hand up to her mouth. Laxus cringed, turning to Gajeel.

"Gajeel, get out."

He lifted his head from the blanket, "...Where am I supposed to go-"

"I said get out!"

He did so, leaving the hotel room. He slammed the door shut and stormed through the hallway. He was watched by Freed and Bixlow, who watched from a cracked door. "Where is he going?" Freed asked.

"Who knows," Bixlow muttered before moving away from the door.

* * *

He felt nauseous. He felt awful. Why the hell did he feel this way? Was it because he was caught? Because Laxus kicked him out? His heart raced as he looked around for a hiding spot. Where was he supposed to go, now? There was a broom closet at the end of the hallway. Reluctant, he opened the door and hid inside, hopeful that no one would open it. It was a small and cramped space, but all he had until Laxus hopefully calmed down. He sat in the small corner and pushed a heavy bucket against the door. He'd never seen Laxus get that way, but Mirajane spoke as if she'd been used to it.

The closet was freezing, and he shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. Hopefully Laxus would calm down soon. His face was flushed red and hair was still in his face. His eyes were red and itchy. Gajeel still felt like he'd throw up-and he wanted to-but he wouldn't. He didn't like the thought of it, he didn't want to do that to himself, not again.

Gajeel breathed deeply until whatever was coming up went back down. "Shit," He muttered, shivering again. It got colder and colder in the room. He turned around to realize there was a small vent beside him. "In the fucking broom closet?" He growled.

He rested his head on the wall and gazed into nothingness. Gajeel was still tired, and Laxus' fit exhausted him more. "Fucking bullshit."

Why did he do this again? Why the hell did he agree to sit in this freezing closet, just because Laxus said so? Did he really scare him? Gajeel stood and thought for a minute; maybe he should just go back in there, regardless of his mood-

All of Laxus' friends just found out that he and Laxus were gay. For each other.

He sat back down, brushing his hair from his face and sighing as it only fell back down in front of his face.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ahaaaaa, super sorry these take so long! I'd like to get it done but writing inspiration is very hard to find ; v; Here's the next chapter. Thanks for putting up with me! :'D**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

It was raining heavily outside. The sound of thunder could be heard throughout the halls. Bixlow stirred and awoke to the sound of knocking at the door. Grumbling, he sat up, scratching his stomach and mindlessly staggering towards the door. He opened it, "Yeah…?" His eyes widened as Gajeel was seen, red in the face and eyes. He looked like a mess.

"I need a place to crash." He said. He stared at Bixlow with tired eyes, scratching his head and soon looking away, "I don't know if Laxus wants me to come back or...not."

"Okay."

Gajeel looked back up at him, a bit shocked that he'd welcomed him. He was sat down on a seat beside the occupied couch-Elfman slept soundly through the noises-and watched as Bixlow grabbed two bottles of water. He handed one to Gajeel and opened the other to drink himself. Hesitant, Gajeel removed the cap from the bottle and took small sips. He kept his head low, as did Bixlow, as silence filled the room.

"It's not your fault."

Gajeel looked up at Bixlow. What did he mean, it wasn't his own fault?

"It was me," Bixlow admitted, "I almost said something, I...I shouldn't have said _anything_."

Gajeel looked back down, biting his lip. "Does... he always get like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Mirajane? She stopped by...it just, y'know, it seemed like she'd dealt with this shit before."

"...She has," Bixlow confirmed, taking a gulp of his water, "He has a short fuse, a really, _really_ short fuse."

"Mmm…"

"You- d-don't take it personally, just…" He stopped, turning to the other's face. Gajeel's lips were quivered and his eyes were shut. This was new. They never spoke like this, but he'd never seen him so miserable. He didn't do anything wrong, why was he crying? Bixlow stood and moved closer to him, brushing hair from the other's face. "C'mon, don't do that," he whispered, wiping Gajeel's tears with his own hands, "Get some sleep, okay?"

Gajeel looked back up, soon standing as he was led to the bedroom. Before Bixlow opened the door, he uttered, "It's not _my_ fault?"

He turned to Gajeel, a bit surprised that he'd even assume it were his fault. "No," he replied, "It's not."

Gajeel quietly climbed into the bed with Bixlow, making sure not to wake anyone else. "Is... this gonna be okay with him…?" He asked. Bixlow shrugged.

"Really, it's all we have, they took the cots," Bixlow said, pointing to Mirajane and Lisanna resting together on the cot. Evergreen slept in the other bed, and she demanded that she'd sleep in it alone. Gajeel pulled the blanket over him, "Okay…"

Between the two of them, this was awkward. Very awkward. They faced away from each other, Gajeel hiding his face under the blanket. The only sounds heard in the room were Gajeel's rustling and the ceiling fan above them. Bixlow was left blanketless, curled up to prevent himself from rolling onto Gajeel. He sat up and turned to the other man resting beside him. Gajeel had fallen asleep.

He rested back on the bed, sighing. The rain began to fall harder, and from the window Bixlow could see palm trees harshly swaying and even leaves and litter being picked up by the wind. He was surprised that no one else was woken by the loud thunder. Though, the rain was quite relaxing. Bixlow closed his eyes and let the rain take him to sleep.

It was an uneasy rest, but he slept.

* * *

Morning arose yet the rain hadn't stopped, nor did the thunder. Gajeel stepped out of the bed slowly, hoping not to wake anyone in the room. He left the hotel room and headed for his own, knocking before walking in. It was clean, as if everything had been untouched since they'd arrived to the beach. The room was frighteningly quiet.

Gajeel opened the door to the bedroom, slowly. Laxus rested in the bed under the blanket facing away from him. "What do you want?" He asked, assuming Gajeel was there.

"...What's...are you...okay?" Probably not the appropriate question for right now, but Gajeel had to ask; he really didn't want to face Laxus' rage. Laxus, calmly turned around and made eye contact with Gajeel, who still hid behind the door.

"Are you?"

Was he supposed to answer that? Gajeel looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?" he asked.

Laxus sat up in the bed, stripping the blanket from him, revealing that he hadn't changed from yesterday's clothes. He rubbed his eyes and watched as Gajeel hesitantly stepped in the room. He motioned for Gajeel to come over. His orders were followed and Gajeel sat next to him.

"Did...you know why I told you to leave?" Laxus asked. He looked concerned. Gajeel kept his face away, but responded, "No."

Laxus sighed, "C'mere," He said, pulling Gajeel up to rest with him in the bed, "It's okay, alright? I'm fine."

Thank god. Gajeel sighed, relieved. "Laxus…" He began before he was held tighter. Anticipating the question, Laxus interrupted, "Don't worry about it."

He probably shouldn't ask. He turned his head to look at the window to see that it was still raining. The rain had fallen incredibly hard overnight, and it was still falling very hard. silently, the two decided to stay indoors the whole time. Laxus assumed it would be a great time to stay with Gajeel more. He pulled Gajeel up and kissed his cheeks, causing Gajeel to blush, and rested his head on Laxus' chest, "Lets try this again," he muttered.

* * *

Bixlow kissed Lisanna on her forehead, wrapping her in a blanket, "You look adorable," He said. She grinned, "Of course I do."

He laughed as he hugged her, pulling her towards the pillows to lay down. He assumed they'd spend the rest of the day indoors. For him, the rain was always fun to be in, but he'd rather much be with Lisanna. She didn't like the rain as much as Bixlow did.

Still, he thought about Laxus and Gajeel. There wasn't much of a racket coming from across the hall so they must be okay. Hopefully Laxus had calmed down. It was still surprising, them being together, even though he'd already known Laxus' feelings for Gajeel. Gajeel clearly had some feelings for Laxus as well. Bixlow thought things would work out between the two.

Of course, now all the craziness died down. Gajeel was back with Laxus and Bixlow was with Lisanna. Everyone else chose to sleep in. Thankfully Gajeel hadn't woken them up earlier; to Bixlow, that would have been awkward. They might have taken it the wrong way, especially Laxus. He sighed quietly, holding Lisanna tighter while spooning her from behind, "You smell pretty good baby," He flirted with her.

"I used a new conditioner," She said quietly, half asleep. He indulged in her scent before he drifted off himself. This would be a slow day, he guessed.

Until, of course, someone knocked on the door. "Room service!" They called, quite loudly. Bixlow growled before rolling out of bed, "What the fuck," He grumbled, scratching the back of his head before opening the door. Not surprisingly, it wasn't room service.

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked the two at the door.

"Oh shit wrong door."

"How the hell do you yell so loudly yet at the wrong door, dumbass?"

"Wait…" Bixlow stopped them, taking a moment to comprehend what exactly was happening, "Natsu, Gray...what the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well," Natsu put a thumb to his chin, his other hand resting on his hip, "We wanted to go to the beach? Is there that much to it?"

Bixlow looked at him wide-eyed, "Then how did...how did you know we were here?" He questioned Natsu, who shrugged in response, scratching his head.

"Well, we didn't know you guys were here, we knew Laxus was here."

"That doesn't exactly tell me how you guys knew he was-" Bixlow stopped, remembering who Laxus was with. Now fully awake, Bixlow stepped out of the room, in front of the two. "Actually," he started, his arms raised and a silly looking grin on his face, "You probably shouldn't bother him-I mean, it's early he's probably still sleeping, yeah!"

"...Okay?" Gray said, "And if we wake him up?"

"What- d-don't you work with him!? Have you not seen him up early?"

"...I guess?"

Bixlow sighed, "Let's just not bother him right now-"

"Not bother who?"

Bixlow jumped and slowly turned around to see Laxus' hotel room door opened. Laxus stood behind him, arms crossed, looking at the two visitors. "What the hell're you two doing here?"

"We're dropping by," Gray responded, "What are you doing here?"

"What's it look like, dumbass?" Laxus said, motioning to his hotel room, "On vacation, and I'll be here 'til Saturday night."

"Lucky…" Natsu muttered, "Rumor says the owner of the bar is his own grandfather," he whispered in Gray's ear. Gray nodded in response and whispered back, "No wonder..."

Hearing what they said, Laxus didn't bother telling them off about it. He turned around to his hotel room, but before closing the door, he told them, "And keep it down, people are trying to rest."

He closed the door. he three were alone in the hallway. Bixlow turned to them.

"So...where are you staying?"

"We aren't staying," Gray answered, "We're here for like, a day."

"I'm sick of sitting through that ride, I'm not doing that again today…" Natsu stated, "Can't we just spend one night in a hotel? A MOTEL would do, just somethin'."

"Dude, we can't even afford a motel."

"Well, can we stay here with you guys?"

"No way," Evergreen said from inside the other room. She'd overheard their conversation. She was dressed in a full skirt pink dress with a floral pattern. Her high heels clacked along the hardwood flooring as she walked towards the group, "It's honestly bad enough that I was FORCED to share a room with...Elfman."

Natsu and Gray looked inside the room to see a now fully healthy Elfman sitting on the couch with Mirajane and Lisanna. They waved, happily.

"A bit much, don't ya' think, Ever?" Bixlow commented on her choice of clothing, "It's not like we're going out today. It's rainin'."

"What does that have to do with?" She responded, "A woman with style would rather show it off than sit in their pajamas all day, whether they be inside or out."

Bixlow said something quite rude under his breath as Evergreen walked away, the sound of her heels hitting the floor fading.

* * *

Laxus sat back on the bed and pulled the sheets up. Gajeel was still asleep and hadn't known about Natsu and Gray's presence. Sighing quietly in relief, he spooned the other, pulling the sheets over himself. A quiet day would do them both fine, especially after the events of yesterday. He wished he could be alone with him much more now that they've come this far.

Though, he still thought they should get to know each other more.

The rain kept pouring and the winds blew harder; Laxus listened to the thunder. It was honestly his favorite type of weather. He didn't run around in the rain letting himself get soaked. He preferred to sit in silence and just listen to the thunder. He'd usually have a beer, and sometimes watch a movie.

A soft roar of thunder was heard. Gajeel awoke to the sound and sat up, looking beside him. Laxus looked up at him. Saying nothing, Gajeel turned towards him and sleepily nuzzled his chest. Laxus unconsciously wrapped his arms around him, placing his lips on Gajeel's forehead. "You alright?" He whispered.

Gajeel nodded.

That Friday morning, the group had headed out to the beach again to enjoy one last day at the shore. They played volleyball; Gajeel, Laxus, Bixlow and Elfman on one side and Mirajane, Lisanna, Freed and Evergreen on the other. Gray and Natsu were denied to play with them, as Laxus thought the two would start another fight and ruin the end of their trip. Gray and Natsu already spent the last of their spending money on food and a motel.

"Okay!" Mirajane cheered, "Serve!" She tossed the ball into the air and hit it over the net. Bixlow smacked it back to them and Lisanna missed it-being just too short to reach it-and the ball hit the sand. Natsu solemnly drew a line in the sand, representing their score.

"No fair!" she called Bixlow out, "You hit the ball to high!"

"How can you hit the ball to high, baby?" He grinned as she pouted, "Alright, I'll go easy on you girls...and Freed."

"Thank you," Freed said.

"Okay, I'll serve," Bixlow said before hitting the ball over the ner, this time low enough for Lisanna. she hit it, only to have it be slammed by Elfman immediately over the net. Freed just stopped it from falling, and hit it over towards Laxus. Laxus hit the ball, the ball flew over the net and towards Evergreen. She missed the ball. Natsu drew a line.

"What the hell!" She yelled.

"It's called paying attention," Bixlow teased, only to get a sandal to the face.

Laxus served. Mirajane hit the ball back, and the ball flew right over Bixlow's head. It landed on the ground and Gray drew a line for the other team. Lisanna cheered.

"Why'd you miss that, huh, Bixlow?" Evergreen eased back. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Mirajane served. Laxus hit the ball back towards freed, and Freed hit it out of bounds. Laxus served and Lisanna smacked the ball back. Elfman hit it and hit it too far. The ball fell out of bounds. Lisanna served and Gajeel hit the ball back over the net. The ball hit the sand. Gajeel served and Freed returned the ball. Bixlow saved the ball from hitting the ground and tossed it towards Laxus, who hit it over the net. It hit Evergreen square in the face and no one earned points. They took a whole thirty minute break for a small cut.

Gajeel served again, and Lisanna hit the ball towards Mira, who lost it. Gajeel served for a third time and Mira hit the ball back. Bixlow missed it. Mira served and hit the ball towards Elfman who...hit the ball too far again. Mira served again and Bixlow hit the ball back. Lisanna caught the ball; foul. Mira served again. Out.

Elfman served and the ball flew towards Evergreen, who softly hit the ball-not necessarily towards anyone, she just hit the ball-to Lisanna and the ball hit the ground on the other side. Lisanna served and Laxus slammed the ball back over the net, receiving applause for such an awesome move, much to his annoyance. They teams were tied, five to five.

"You can serve," Laxus said, handing the ball to Gajeel. he nodded and tossed the ball up in the air.

There was a sudden loud argument, which threw Gajeel off. The ball landed on his face. Laxus rushed to him as the others moved on to yell at Natsu and Gray, who started fighting over the score.

"You erased one of the lines, asshole!" Naus yelled, about to punch Gray before the two were separated from each other by the group. By then, the score was completely erased as No one playing had kept track, and Natsu and Gray stopped caring. the game ended with a tie, as Evergreen and Lisanna were too tired to play more.

"You alright?" Laxus asked, helping Gajeel up off the sand.

"I'm fine," Gajeel answered, brushing sand from his legs.

"Your nose."

"My what-?" Gajeel stopped as le looked down at his chest, which had drops of blood that fell from his nose. He started noticing the pain and held on to it as Laxus grabbed his beach towel to clean him off.

They blamed their spoiled day on Natsu and Gray.

* * *

Gajeel removed the warm wet cloth from his face, given to him by room service, and handed it to Laxus. His nose had finally stopped bleeding and there wasn't much pain. It was the evening and he'd skipped lunch to rest. His stomach felt empty. He'd rather stay here but he had to go out to eat. Gajeel stood out of bed feeling for any pain from his nose. He actually couldn't feel much anything on his nose, let alone pain. It wasn't broken, just numb, probably.

"Oi, Gajeel?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at Laxus.

"Your nose okay?"

"Ah- yeah."

The two set out for the car to go to a fancy[ier] restaurant-close to the beach but further from their hotel-for seafood. Gray and Natsu were formerly uninvited.

Evergreen mentally claimed she'd dressed the best; a long, green sheath dress with pearl earrings. Her hair was in a neat bun. Lisanna was in a simple skirt and white top, with sandals. She made Bixlow wear something that at least looked clean; a white t-shirt with jeans and a black belt. Freed wore a button up shirt with gray khakis. Elfman, Laxus and Gajeel just wore t-shirts and jeans, obviously not caring considering their location.

"Everything is amazing here!" Evergreen said, eyeing the restaurant's theme. The carpet was a dark red color and the lights from the chandeliers gave off a soft yellow lighting. The group was seated and given their menus.

"Look at all the food!" Bixlow said, almost drooling, "Aw hell I don't know what I want!"

"Choose wisely," Laxus muttered, "You're paying for it yourself."

Moping, Bixlow put his head on the table and handed the menu to Lisanna, figuring she'd make better choices both tastily and financially. Laxus leaned over to Gajeel, enough so that Bixlow couldn't hear too much, and whispered, "I'll pay for yours."

A bit flustered, Gajeel perked up, "Are you sure?" He whispered back.

The waitress walked over to the group with a notepad and pen. "Good evening," She greeted them, "Are you ready for your drinks?"

Evergreen and Mira ordered red wine while Lisanna and Freed requested white. The rest ordered a beer, only to get a scornful "Hmph" in response from the waitress. As she left, Laxus shot a slight glare to her back in return. Gajeel, sitting closest to the wall, leaned against it and looked over his menu. He knew Laxus was still spending money on him, and he knew his job paid really, _really _well, but he still didn't want him to pay too much. Then again the smaller foods seemed pretty expensive too.

The food arrived. The Strauss siblings each ordered salmon while Evergreen and Freed ordered a seafood salad. Elfman and received crab legs. After a minute of pleading by Gajeel not to buy himself a separate dinner, Laxus ordered a large platter of shrimp to share. Gajeel blushed as he'd received looks from people at other tables, but he still ate.

And he still felt bad.

The waitress returned with their bill, at a total of 50,000 jewel. Gajeel peeked at the bill and almost gagged, imagining if he had to pay for even part of that. Then he say Laxus take out his jewel. It looked like no big deal to him. He wasn't paying for the whole thing, but Gajeel still felt a little bit guilty. The girls got up and went to the bathroom and soon after, so did Freed, Bixlow and Elfman, leaving Gajeel and Laxus alone.

"What's wrong?"

Gajeel jumped, pulled from his thoughts. "It's nothing, really, sorry."

"Are you sure?" He turned his body towards the other, resting his arm on Gajeel's shoulders, "You've been pretty tense all night."

"I just...do...do you…" He glanced at the people at the table, next to him. He could hear their murmurs. The people behind their seats whispered about them. They both turned away from each other, faces a tad pink.

"I told you!" The woman behind them whispered to her, likely, husband, "he just wrapped his hand around him. _HIM!_ There's gotta be something between the two."

"Ugh," Someone from another table grunted. She got up to use the bathroom. Laxus turned back towards him.

"Hey."

No response. Gajeel didn't want to speak right now. As the rest of the group returned so did the waitress, with Evergreen's credit card and a note, which she'd slipped into Laxus' hands. It was very sloppily written, probably rushed.

'Take it somewhere else.'

He crumpled it up.

"What's it say?" Bixlow asked, peering over Laxus' shoulder. Laxus shoved it in his pocket.

"Nothing."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Sorry."

"..."

The two sat there on the bed for an hour. They looked away from each other. It was a short moment, but it escalated so much in such little time. Gajeel hadn't said anything since. He wasn't ever this quiet, not even around Laxus. He wanted to leave Gajeel be, but then again he didn't want to just leave Gajeel in the room alone. He didn't want to question him anymore.

Finally, Gajeel moved to the bathroom without a word. Laxus could hear the sound of the sink running, and then the shower. It was a long shower. Laxus rested back on the bed, wanting to just give it up. He was to exhausted to take a shower, and instead stood, undressed until he was in nothing but underwear, and rested back on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself.

Gajeel stepped out of the shower in pajama pants, turning off the bathroom light and scratching his head. He sat back down on the bed. Laxus turned his body around and faced the other. Gajeel's back was to him; he watched out the window.

Laxus understood what Gajeel was feeling-then again he didn't really know _what_ Gajeel was feeling. Laxus just felt angry-outraged as a matter of fact-and a bit sad at the same time. He wanted to punch that woman in the face. He would pick fights with everyone there if he really could, but of course he knew better.

He wanted to reach out to him. He wanted to pull Gajeel under the blanket with him, and hold him as close as he could. He wanted him to just say something. He wanted to talk to Gajeel and make him feel better. This wasn't the first time he'd seen Gajeel like this, but it felt too new, especially considering the situation they were in. He knew Gajeel just needed some space but he just wanted to caress him and tell him that everything was okay. Gajeel was a roommate, and nothing more, but Laxus came to love him so, so much. He wanted to tell him he loved him. Laxus didn't want Gajeel to think bad of him after that incident; to think he didn't want him anymore; to think he were too embarrassed to be around him.

Gajeel slept on the couch.

* * *

The drive home was quiet. No conversation was held in the back of the van as most of them had fallen asleep. Laxus and Gajeel hadn't uttered a word since that Friday night. It was Saturday evening and their vacation had come to a somber end.

The only stops Laxus made was for gas and snacks. The sun was setting by the time they'd arrived to their homes. And it was dark once Laxus and Gajeel reached the door to their apartment. Laxus put the key in and then hesitated opening the door.

"Hey."

Gajeel looked up at Laxus in response to his call. Laxus spoke softly, so no one could hear them, even though no one was in the hallway. Laxus reached a hand to Gajeel's face, lightly touching it as he knelt down for a kiss. He did so lightly. Gajeel's lips were surprisingly soft but looked as if he'd bitten them. The kiss went no deeper before Laxus pulled away. Gajeel's face flushed with pink as he was pushed inside.

"Listen," Laxus said, grabbing Gajeel's shoulders, "I don't...I don't feel bad for doing this. You-you're_ not_ bad. You're _not_ making me feel bad and _you_ shouldn't feel bad. I want...I don't want you to be like this, and I don't want you to think I don't want to be with you, because I really, really do." By then, Gajeel's face grew redder and tears fell from his eyes. Laxus kissed his cheeks and hugged him, "Gajeel, nothin' anyone says is gonna make me feel bad for being with ya'."

The hug lasted a while before the two went straight to bed. Laxus still didn't have work until Monday. The rest of the night and tomorrow were to themselves. Alone.

Gajeel removed his shirt and sat on the bed beside Laxus, who pulled him up on his lap. They faced each other, looking deep into each other's eyes. Laxus gently kissed his lips and rested his back on the bed, pulling Gajeel with him. It was a rather sloppy, wet kiss. Laxus grabbed at Gajeel's pants and slowly pulled them down.

They broke the kiss, panting for air. Gajeel sat above him with nothing but underwear on, while the other was fully clothed. Laxus moved down to kiss Gajeel's neck and chest, making Gajeel shudder. He sucked on his chest, stomach and neck, leaving marks on him as if to claim Gajeel as his own. He licked and sucked at Gajeel's nipples until his quiet groans turned into soft, shaky yelps and he let go.

He kissed his lips again, holding him tighter and stroking his body. Laxus nodded Gajeel's direction, letting him pull down the zipper to his shorts, revealing Laxus' hardening member. Gajeel hesitated, then kissed it, stroking it slowly before finally, slowly, going down on it. He could hear Laxus' pleased moans, and went further and further down, eventually bobbing his head.

Laxus helt Gajeel's head, gently, as he pleasured him. He listened for Gajeel's soft gags, often pulling him up for a few seconds of air before he decided himself to keep going down. He stopped once or twice to play with Laxus' testicles, kissing and licking them as Laxus stroked his own cock until Gajeel came back for more. When Gajeel gasped for air then, there was a loud moan before he was pushed back down by Laxus.

Finally, Laxus came, but he wasn't completely finished off. Gajeel stood up on the bed above him, faced away from him, and slowly removed his underwear. Laxus grabbed at Gajeel's ass and kissed his cheeks, over and over before finally pulling him down to his lap. Laxus sat against the bed frame with Gajeel's head resting over his shoulder. He stroked Gajeel's member with his own before putting his in his entrance. Gajeel's face was a deep red and ridden with pleasure already. He was shaking and practically begging for more.

Laxus pulled him down, all the way in already. Gajeel yelped in surprise and satisfaction, holding on to Laxus' shoulders. He let Laxus move his body and take control, and soon enough Laxus had wrapped his arm around his head and body, holding him close and restraining him as he fucked him silly. Laxus' loud grunts were right in Gajeel's ears, as his loud moans were in Laxus'. He moved harder, and faster as Gajeel yelled louder.

Laxus finished, his own mess oozing out if Gajeel. Gajeel looked completely lost in his own pleasure, unable to even speak properly before his messy wet lips were kissed again. He was laid down on the bed as Laxus stood up to change his clothes in silence. He carried Gajeel to the bathroom and turned on the water in the tub; he'd bathe him.

As Gajeel was rested into the tub he already felt like going to sleep then and there. Laxus washed Gajeel off before just letting him soak in the warm water. He sat at the edge of the tub, watching Gajeel start to fall asleep and struggle to keep himself awake. Laxus chuckled, "You're falling asleep."

"What-you went..._really_ fucking hard…"

Laughing, Laxus kissed Gajeel's forehead before standing up to brush his teeth.

* * *

The next morning Laxus awoke, and Gajeel wasn't there. The lights were all on and it was incredibly bright in his bedroom, however outside appeared dark. He assumed it was really early in the morning. Gajeel probably turned the lights on.

He sat up from the bed to look at the clock beside him. It flashed 11:59 am, meaning that the clock was wrong considering it was so dark outside. He looked at his watch that sat beside the clock. It also flashed 11:59 am and the hands pointed to 11:59. Totally confused, Laxus stood up and walked outside the bedroom.

All the lights were out. The light switch in the hallway between the bathroom and bedrooms wasn't working. Gajeel's bedroom door was wide open, but completely empty. No clothes scattered on the floor, not even a mattress. Laxus could feel his heart race. He paced towards the living room where the only light came from the TV, and reflected off of Gajeel's pale face. Laxus sighed in relief, but gasped as he focused on what he was looking at.

Gajeel stared at the TV with barely blinking eyes which looked puffy and red; as if he'd been crying. Yet he was so expressionless. He played with the laces on his sweatpants with shaky fingers. He was bleeding out of his nose. Laxus walked up to him.

"Hey."

"..."

"Is everything…okay?"

"..."

"Gajeel…" He reached a hand out to Gajeel, which caused him to twitch and shiver. Laxus could see his breath; the room was cold, probably, but he didn't feel it. He moved to touch Gajeel again.

"Laxus?"

"Huh, what?" Laxus blinked, wiping his eyes and turning to Gajeel. "What…?"

"You're...are you okay?"

* * *

"I-" He started, but then realised what was going on. Another weird dream about Gajeel. Laxus grabbed Gajeel's arms and pulled him into his lap, kissing his cheek and holding him against his chest. "I'm fine."

Sunday was uneventful. The two had stayed indoors the whole day. They'd ordered breakfast and later a pizza for dinner. Laxus woke up on the couch, remembering that he had just pigged out with Gajeel while watching a movie that Sunday night. "Hell-!" He said, shuffling for clean clothes and his shoes. Gajeel woke up to the sound of running around the room. His eyes had barely adjusted to the light and he closed them again until they did.

"Laxus?" He called, "What are you doing?"

Laxus sat beside him, pulling on his shoes, "Sorry," he apologized, "I gotta go."

Gajeel's eyes fluttered, finally adjusting to the light. That's right; Laxus had work that day. It was Monday. Laxus, quickly, hugged Gajeel while he was still on the couch and waved goodbye as he ran out the door. Soon enough, Gajeel fell back to sleep.

Luckily, he'd made it to work on time, but the sun beaming down on him didn't help, of course, it actually made his trip go much slower. out of breath, he entered the bar which had just opened, greeting the manager, Gildarts, who helped himself with a bottle of beer. Laxus stepped behind the counter towards him, "You sure you should be drinkin' that now?"

"Positive."

He sighed, putting his head down on the counter. He didn't expect a very busy day, of course. Then again Mondays can be tiresome for many people, including himself. He sat back up and wiped off the bar. Natsu and Gray walked in, arguing as usual, only to be stopped by Gildarts. Lucy came to visit Natsu during his shift, and Laxus let him serve her a drink. The two had gotten much closer. Natsu bragged about her to everyone once she left.

Eventually, it was noon. More customers came in, thankfully it wasn't much of a crowd. A group of ladies came in and began flirting with Laxus while he was working, and Gildarts wasn't much help, making fun of him and telling the girls stories about him.

It was 6:30. A woman entered the bar and Laxus greeted her, soon recognizing who she was, "Oh, it's you."

"Not happy to see me?" She said as she sat down on one of the bar seats, "Came to check up on ya'."

"That so? You want the usual?"

"Please."

He handed the woman booze. Gildarts walked out of his office to the sound of the woman at the bar. "Cana!" He called her. She waved, still downing her booze. Cana Alberona. She was Gildarts' daughter, and got a lot of free drinks from the bar-she offers to pay but Gildarts won't let Laxus accept the money. She talked about how she hung out with another woman named Juvia for most of the day, and how she had a crush on one of their own workers. Of course, he knows; it's a rather loud secret. She boasted about about beating a man from another bar, the owner of this bar in fact, in a drinking game. They called themselves "Quatro Cerberus" and she laughed as she compared them to puppies. Cana managed to get herself wildly drunk before she prepared to leave with her father.

* * *

It was really dark out by then. Laxus wiped off the counters again while Gray and Natsu cleaned up the place. Gildarts left, ensuring that Laxus would close up shop. Natsu and Gray left arguing about who makes the better drinks. Laxus fixed his messy hair before locking the doors. Not such a long day, but fairly annoying.

Laxus opened the door to his apartment to see Gajeel still sleeping on the couch. He walked up to him and kneeled down to meet his face, "You okay?"

"I...uhnn…"

Laxus sat the other upright and held his head up to stop it from lulling to the side, "What's up?"

"I don't…" He fell ill. Laxus pulled him off the couch and into the bedroom.

"Did you take medicine?"

"Yes."

"...Did you take _your_ medicine?"

"_Yes_."

He must've been legitimately sick, then, Gajeel clutched his stomach as he was sat on Laxus' bed. Laxus sat beside him, feeling his head; warm. The last thing Gajeel ate was a sandwich for lunch, meaning the lunch meat was probably bad. Gajeel flopped onto the bed, groaning as Laxus fixed his position until he was properly rested under the blankets. "I'm gonna sleep on the couch."

"Why?" Gajeel was displeased to hear this. Laxus sighed.

"Dude, you're sick, you look like you're gonna throw up."

"...And what if I do?"

"Then we'll all suffer," Laxus answered sarcastically, "I'm assuming you don't want anything to eat right now?"

"Yeah, nah."

"Mhmm," Laxus kneeled down to kiss Gajeel's forehead, only to receive a rather annoyed groan in return. He grinned, punching him softly before leaving. Gajeel was annoyed at his sudden illness. He didn't remember doing anything or even eating anything. Actually, he didn't remember what happened at all. He felt his stomach growling and a sudden pain in his side made him flinch. "Fuck," He muttered as he grasped his side.

A while later Gajeel ended up staring at the ceiling. He still felt pain, but he was thinking a lot. That night with Laxus, and those days during the vacation. Everything Laxus had done for him up to this point; from Laxus helping him put away clothes like a child, to him being sick and Laxus surrendering his own bed to him. As much as Laxus denied him, he owed him, and he owed him a lot. Gajeel felt in debt to him, and yet Laxus was so nice about it. He knew what was going on with him-not necessarily everything about him, but he knew enough-and he worked so hard to handle Gajeel, ever since he showed up.

Like. A._ Child._

He felt the pain in his side increased and he rolled onto his stomach, almost off the bed, Gajeel sighed, blowing strands of hair from his face. He was probably more stressed than he was sick. Maybe his own stress and drowsiness had driven him to illness. Likely, but not something Gajeel would believe. He sat up and rolled back into position under the blanket.

Okay. He'd get a job. Where would someone like Gajeel Redfox find a job? He couldn't get one in his old neighborhood, and he didn't think finding one here would be that easy. Gajeel pushed the blankets off him, almost too hot to even want to keep his clothes on. He curled up, groaning loudly, so hopefully Laxus could hear, but he stopped for the same reason. Gajeel wasn't needy and he didn't want to be, and yet that's all he's been ever since the two had met. Still, Laxus walked in.

"What's up? Are you okay?"

"...yeah."

"You sure?" Laxus walked towards him.

"No, it's o-...I'm fine," Gajeel interrupted him, holding his hands up to stop Laxus from coming any closer. Laxus shrugged pulling the blanket back on the bed and beside Gajeel, figuring he was hot. He left once Gajeel assured he was okay again.

"I need a job," Gajeel muttered before rolling onto his stomach, his entire face buried in the pillows.

* * *

Gajeel was still very ill that morning-in fact, he was worse-and Laxus constantly checked on him before he left for work. Laxus told Gajeel that he could take the day off to take care of him and that it was fine, but Gajeel begged him to go to work, saying that he could take care of himself.

"You don't look very positive about that," Laxus said, putting on his shirt

Once Laxus finally left, Gajeel slumped on the couch, completely regretting makinging Laxus leave him there. He felt awful; nauseous, headache, and his legs felt totally stiff. He struggled to walk back to Laxus' bedroom.

No, he'll sleep in his own bed.

This virus was bugging him, he thought as he climbed into bed, covering himself completely with the blanket. Soon he ended up throwing it off of himself as it had gotten too hot. Soon again, he put it back on. Gajeel groaned in both pain and annoyance. He wanted to call Laxus back but he refused to make Laxus do any more.

Then again, from this point he couldn't bring himself to move from the bed.

"So, how sick are ya?" Bixlow asked, sitting beside Gajeel in the bed.

"This ain't a doctor's office…" Gajeel mumbled, "I can't move."

"Can't move eh? Anything else, kid?"

"I'm a grown man...my stomach hurts."

"Uh huh."

"I'm nauseous."

"Yup."

"I have a headache."

"Okie dokie," Bixlow said as he pretended to take notes, "Don't worry dear Gajeel, we'll figure out the diagnosis and see what we can do with ya'."

"Quit teasing me," Gajeel said before grabbing the blankets again. Bixlow laughed and left the room. This was either a last resort or a bad idea to Gajeel, but Bixlow was the only other person he could talk to. Then again, why was he so worried? Everyone else would probably have said no, considering that they aren't as close. He realized how lonely he actually was in this town. Two people. Better than nothing, but still pretty lonesome.

Bixlow walked back into the room with a bottle of water and handed it to Gajeel, "Don't get too thirsty."

"Thanks."

He stretched his arms, "Laxus went to work?" Bixlow asked, "I'm surprised he didn't take off…"

"I told him to."

"...And why would you do that?"

"I…I'm-I dunno."

Bixlow sat down on the floor, looking at Gajeel as he hid his head under the blanket. "Did you wanna eat?"

"Not really."

Gajeel was more bummed out than sick, that was clear. Bixlow assumed Gajeel had felt something about Laxus; maybe he didn't want him to get sick as well? That probably wasn't it. He saw that Gajeel had taken his medication as the bottle of pills had been knocked over. He also noticed another pill bottle on the floor. It was an empty orange one. Bixlow picked it up and read the tag on the bottle. The tag had Gajeel's name. These were prescribed.

"You ran out of medicine?" Bixlow asked, holding the pill bottle up to Gajeel for him to see as he pulled his head out of the blanket.

"Wha-" He stopped, his eyes totally wide, "I...holy shit…" Gajeel spoke under his breath, raising Bixlow's concern.

"..S'methin' wrong?" Bixlow asked him, eyebrows raised. Quickly, Gajeel nodded no and announced that he wanted to be alone for now. Silently, Bixlow left for the living room, closing the door behind him. Gajeel could hear the TV showing the news.

He felt out of breath, Gajeel realized what really made him sick. He peeked from under the blanket, slowly and cautiously, and looked over the edge of his mattress. There it was, the empty pill bottle. It was much more full the other day, but it was clear now what had happened.

Gajeel yanked at his own hair, biting the blanket and panting. He did it again, and he couldn't believe it. He'd gotten himself so drunk and ended up doing something so stupid. Gajeel sighed, thinking Laxus wouldn't know if he'd just tossed out the pill bottle, or hid it somewhere-then again, he was the one buying his prescriptions. He bought all sorts of stuff for him, and yet Gajeel still did shit like this.

How would Laxus react? Would he be mad at him? Of course not, Laxus is never _really _mad at him. Yet Bixlow did say he had a short fuse. He heard himself say "fucking shit" over and over once Bixlow knocked on his bedroom door, asking if he was alright. "I'm fine," he'd say in response. Gajeel rolled to his back and covered his eyes with his arm. His hair went everywhere and his skin felt oily. He hadn't taken a shower.

Gajeel stumbled out of his room to take a shower, when he noticed Bixlow in the living room, sitting on the couch. He had something in his hands, he also has some sort of...blade?

"What the hell're ya' doing…?" Gajeel asked, startling Bixlow. He immediately hid the objects behind his back, playfully sticking out his tongue.

"Nothin'."

...Shrugging it off, Gajeel hurriedly jumped into the shower. He felt as if he would never live this one down.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Boy...have I absolutel updated in a while ^^; I'm trying my best to finish this, truly. In fact, this story has actually taken some turns I didn't really expect myself-a lot different from the original outcome I...had in mind. Then again, sometimes I'm a bit glad I changed the story up a bit, it was honestly for the better. In fact, I had This chapter done way before, and had stopped halfway through chapter 15 before I decided: _I really do not like where this story is going._ So I deleted what I had for chapter 15 and 14 and started 14 over again. I feel much better about this.**

**Also, I want this fanfic to be nice and long, and I have that opportunity now, anyway, since there's so much here that needs to be included. You guys are gonna get another little ship in this one! (And before you find out what it is, I'm just gonna say: In this fanfic, I'm not always gonna follow "canon" ships/OTPs. I ship Gajevy, but I also ship Laxeel. _Just because I ship one doesn't mean I can't ship the other._ Hopefully you'll be pleased with this one though ;3c )**

**Thanks for putting up with me!**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_Just hide the bottle, and don't say anything. Just hide the bottle and don't. Say. Anything._

Gajeel repeated the words in his head as he discreetly placed the bottle under the frame-less mattress in his own room. Laxus was heading off to work as he walked into Gajeel's room, making him jump.

"Shi-" Gajeel yelped out, whipping himself around to see Laxus standing at the door.

"What the hell're you doing?" Laxus questioned.

"N-none of your business," Gajeel answered, "Don't you have to go to work or something?"

"I do," Laxus said, walking into the room, "Is there a problem?" Flirtatious, Laxus grabbed the hips of the younger man, causing him to blush.

"No..! Just-It's nothing." Gajeel turned to move away from Laxus before the two left the spacy bedroom.

"We need to do something with that room," Laxus said, quietly, as he pulled on his jacket. Gajeel slumped over the couch, reaching for the remote.

"What'd'ya' mean?" Gajeel asked, "I...I sleep with _you._"

"So what? It's still _your_ space." Laxus zipped up his jacket and grabbed his room key, walking towards the apartment door, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," That would take his mind off of things. His room was so empty. The only thing in there was a pile of dirty clothes, his mattress, a lamp and dresser and the box of music he used to listen to. It was sent by his father, who hadn't really been keeping in touch otherwise. Gajeel assumed he was still drunk on the couch, breaking up the house bit by bit. He shivered as he remembered how harsh his father was when he was drunk. Yet, in the end, his father was the one that sent him away for his own good.

He was a good man.

He sifted through his CDs and signed records-that he hadn't even played, considering he didn't have a record player-and found one of his old favorites, from back when he was a child in middle school. He had an old CD player he'd take everywhere, and listened to that throughout his last few years of middle school...until someone took it and smashed it. He got in a fight with someone. Then he went home to his drunk dad. It wasn't a good day, and he hadn't listened to the CD ever since.

No way he'd do it now, he didn't have a CD player anyway.

Gajeel walked out of the room and sighed, "I need a fuckin' job."

* * *

"I need a raise, old man," Laxus complained to his boss, who chugged a bottle of whiskey at his own desk. Gildarts was one to hesitate when giving people raises, and understandably so, as most people who worked at the little bar didn't deserve a raise; Gray and Natsu didn't deserve a raise. However, Laxus was his best worker...out of the three.

"So be it then, you get a raise, but," Gildarts finally put down the bottle, "Why so sudden? Don't you already make plenty of money here?"

"I mean...I guess, but I just need it right now because-...actually, just-"

"Woah now, Dreyar."

Laxus looked at the older man who paused, and took another swig of his drink. Laxus groaned just before he finished off the bottle and tossed it aside, almost shattering the glass as careless as he was.

"Now I heard from...someone…"

"Heard _what._" Laxus said through his teeth, clenching his fists and making Gildarts grin.

"...That you got somebody at home; THAT'S what this is about, right?"

"Who the hell told you that?" Laxus asked, louder.

"That's not the point; ya' want that raise or what, Laxus?"

Laxus paused, "I do," he admitted, "I have someone at home, and he's got no job, and he's ill and I need to...what?" Laxus stared at the other who was wide eyed. He closed the drawer he'd opened for a can of beer and sat up on the chair, face unmoving and eyes right on Laxus. "What?" Laxus asked again, before realizing what exactly was wrong.

"You…"

"I-no, listen, I'm not-!"

Gildarts stood up and grabbed Laxus over the shoulder, "You got a BOY at home!?" He shouted, "MAN I honestly thought it was a girl but you managed to get your hands on a boy? Is he big or is he one of them pretty boys, eh?"

"It AIN'T like that, old man, I'm NOT gay."

"Sure Laxus, you made it obvious plenty of times before," Gildarts said, "So who is this kid, Laxus?"

"He's just my fucking roommate!"

"Alright, then how about this?" Gildarts sat back down and slammed his hands on his desk, knocking down a few photos of Cana and other papers, "You go home-right now-and show me the guy, I'll give him the job, right then an' there!" Gildarts snapped his fingers while Laxus rolled his eyes, "He won't have as many shifts as you, of course, but if he has a job he can get himself some money, right?"

"I...yeah, I guess we can do that-"

"Then it's SETTLED!" He slammed his fists on the desk again, "Go on, now," Gildarts stood to push him out of his office, "I'll take on the customers for now you just go n' get 'em!"

"Okay okay! Jeez," Laxus said as he was pushed out the door. Yet before leaving, Laxus walked towards the kitchen where the other two were. Natsu struggled to wash dishes without breaking any and Gray viciously scrubbed at mold on the tile floor. They froze as they saw Laxus at the door, glaring at them, sharply.

* * *

"So this' where ya' work?" Gajeel asked him, yawning. Laxus rushed home and woke Gajeel from a nap on the couch. Laxus opened the doors and let the other in, scratching his head.

"Yeah, uh, fuckin' hell…" Laxus spoke under his breath as he heard a loud crash in the kitchen. _Honestly, it was as if Natsu couldn't take care of himself. _Gajeel was led past the kitchen-where Laxus shot the two another glare-and to Gildarts' office, where he was happily welcomed with booze.

"Aren't you supposed to be _selling_ that?" Gajeel questioned the drunken man. Gildarts shrugged, clearing his throat…before finishing off his drink. Laxus stepped in and assured to his boss that he'd already had enough, to which his boss complained that he could handle much more.

"...Laxus, what the hell is all this for?"

"Right, right," Laxus began, letting Gildarts go, "This guy...is my boss."

"..Ah huh."

"He's offering you a job."

"A wha-" Come to think of it, Gajeel had just been considering getting a job. Lucky, he supposes, but why this one?

"I don't know a thing about bartending," Gajeel exclaimed, "Fuck, all I can do is pour beer for MYSELF. I'm not good with working with people, anyways."

"Ah, but~!" Gildarts intervened, "I tell ya' it's great pay. Plus, you don't have to work much with people-promise. Tell ya' what," the drunken man wrapped an arm around Gajeel's waist, making Laxus shudder, "If you take this job, I'll start you off at 900 jewel per hour, and that's probably more than those two!"

Laxus pulled Gildarts off of Gajeel, who was a lot more calmer about this than him. He only brushed off his shoulder.

"Seems good," Gajeel said, hands on his waist, "Sounds like good money t' me; I'll take it."

Firmly shaking his hand, Gildarts excitedly accepted him for work. Laxus rolled his eyes and moved to the front of the bar, so he could finally officially open the store. Gildarts had Laxus show Gajeel the ropes, starting him off in the kitchen and handling the dishes-Laxus moved Natsu to preparing food, and Gray served food and drinks.

However, Natsu wasn't the best chef.

"What the hell're you doing?" Gajeel questioned as he leaned over the counter where Natsu and just put out another small fire.

"I-okay first of all, metal head," Natsu said as he poked at Gajeel's shirt-said shirt he'd gotten at a concert months before he'd moved, "I KNOW what I'm doing. I've been at this job for years! Secondly, you aren't-"

"Move over."

"W-what?"

Gajeel casually shoved Natsu out of the way. He stared at the poorly chopped carrots and potatoes and sighed as he chopped them himself. Natsu stared, almost in awe as Gajeel perfectly and speedily chopped carrots and potatoes, dicing onions in no time.

"What're you making anyway, stew?"

"Y-yeah, for the later crowd...Do you cook or something?"

"...Yeah, yeah," Gajeel answered, "Not as much as I used to with my dad; he taught me all kinds of stuff," He stopped before he'd started rambling. There was a lot about his dad he'd taken for granted, now that he thought about it.

"Oi," Laxus called, "We need more waffles for the breakfast crowd."

"Right!" Gray and Natsu spoke in unison, going right back to work. Gajeel sat on the counter as he watched the two, waiting for dishes to pile up.

And so they did. Who knew a bar could be so popular in the morning? Especially for how small it was, Gajeel thought as he quickly and steadily cleaned dishes. They were the only ones who worked there, right?

Not quite.

"What took you so long, ah?" Gajeel heard Laxus say from outside the kitchen, "We're crowded already."

"Yes! There was an emergency! Juvia is sorry!"

_Juvia!_

Gajeel jumped up from his spot and walked towards the kitchen door, where Juvia already was. They almost bumped into each other, and stared at each other in shock. "Juvia?" gajeel gasped out. Juvia blinked and her eyes grew wide.

"Gajeel-kun? Is that you?"

"Juvia...you're-?"

"Where did you go!?" Juvia asked, "You left school and Juvia has not seen you since, Gajeel-kun!"

_That's right_. Juvia. She'd been with him for most of his childhood; She went to his first elementary school, but the school, due to poor conditioning, and been shut down. They both transferred and ended up in the same school, where Juvia would graduate. She took a ton of art classes and made Gajeel come to her shows.

But Gajeel suddenly left, with no warning whatsoever. Juvia was one of the only people that would speak to him. He felt a little bad for leaving her there, but at least, after all she'd been through, she was okay.

After a brief hug from Juvia, they moved back to their posts. Juvia helped gray served customers and Gajeel cleaned up kitchen messes. Natsu, however, constantly called Gajeel over to help with food, and Gajeel eventually took over. Cana arrived again, for booze, and asked specifically for Juvia. She drunkenly flirted with her, complimenting her outfit and how it matched her hair.

"Thank you Cana-san, but…" Juvia hesitated, "This is my uniform."

Juvia wore a black vest with a pink bow-tie around the collar of a white, short-sleeved, button-up shirt, along with one in her hair. She also wore black, tight fitting pants with pens sticking out of the pockets. Just a uniform, still, but Cana continued with her flirtatious ways and poked at her waist, making Juvia grip tighter to her small notebook.

Laxus face-palmed before pouring another drink.

* * *

"How'd today go?" Laxus asked, leaning against the counter.

"Fine," Gajeel said, washing his hands, "Juvia works here?"

"Juvia? Oh, right, that's right, you know her, don't you?"

"Hmm," Gajeel nodded.

"She's one of our best," Laxus said, "But I mean, she keeps coming in later than she's supposed to, lately. Kind of sudden, but it's always an 'emergency.'"

"...What emergency?"

"Dunno, I ain't questioning."

Gajeel dried off his hands and sat atop the counter. Laxus stood right in front of him. They heard Gray and Natsu loudly leave the bar for the night. Laxus moved his head towards Gajeel's, and kissed his lips, softly.

"You ready to go?" Laxus asked.

"Yeah, yeah."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: ...wow. It's been quite some time since I've updated. I went to work on this fic and I realized I'd already finished this chapter! I revised it up a bit, and now here it is! Enjoy~! A but of Gajeel's past with his dad in this one.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Gajeel lay on the mattress in his room, gazing at the ceiling. It was Friday; Gildarts only had him work Monday through Thursday, so he had the next three days off. His first week of work was done already. The next few days after his first day, of course, were a bit slow.

He'd start working on Fridays eventually, for sure, but it was Laxus who told him not to in the first place. Why did he always do this? Gajeel wasn't a child or anything. Then again, Gajeel ha absolutely no idea what he was doing. He didn't even graduate high school; he was too unmotivated. Gajeel remembered all those times he'd sat through all those classes and never got anything out of them no matter what. He remembered his dad pressuring him to just go to school-and yelling at him about it whenever he was drunk, the alcoholic. Somehow, he just couldn't keep going.

Gajeel used to be the tough guy, throughout kindergarten to the middle of freshman year. Everyone, of course, was hit with the same, sudden amount of pressure highschool gave them, but growing up the way he did, Gajeel wasn't able to handle it. He discovered he'd had depression since before he was a Freshman, and left in the middle of junior year. Gajeel dropped out completely.

He hid it well, however; he was a delinquent for so long, Gajeel was able to pin the blame on his delinquency. He got into fist fights and pulled harsh pranks from leaving a fake rat under the teacher's desk to spray painting graffiti on the windows.

His father was, as said, an alcoholic. And when he was drunk, he was angry. When he was angry, he'd take it out on Gajeel, half the time completely unaware. He genuinely didn't mean to treat Gajeel the way he did. His name is Metalicana. Long name; everyone he knew informally called him "Meta" or "Metal," his least favorite but the most popular being "Metal head." In both instances, in fact, he was. While he was a connoisseur for classic rock and metal bands, owning t-shirts and original records, he was also a collector of hand-crafted weaponry like large swords, detailed daggers, but no guns.

Gajeel grew fond of weapons and rock music, which led to Metalicana putting away money to buy his son a guitar. They would sing together while Gajeel played. They sounded awful.

However, with his drinking, Metalicana and Gajeel's relationship grew distant. It sucked for Gajeel, he still looked up to his father before he'd moved away. His father got really aggressive, especially when he started doing drugs. He'd lock himself away and smoke a few joints, and he'd be in there so long he'd forget to feed Gajeel.

"Where 're ya' goin'?" asked the fourteen year old Gajeel, slouching on the couch as he watched his father head out.

"Hmm? Oh, uh," His father responded, realizing that his son was, in fact, still here, "Ah, don't worry about it, I'll be home around six…Gaj?"

"Huh? What?"

"You been takin' yer' meds?"

"...uh huh?"

"A-ah, good," Metalicana said before slowly closing the front door, "See you in a bit."

"Mmm."

That wasn't a lie, the medication. However Gajeel found himself taking a bit more than he was prescribed. He'd run out too early, and he'd come home the rest of the day feeling awful. Since he took more than one at a time, he felt nauseous.

And yet he kept doing it.

Gajeel looked at his shaking hands, wondering why he'd been doing this to himself; was he suicidal? Was this pleasure to him? Did he REALLY want to die? Gajeel wasn't sure, but he didn't stop. He'd find himself vomiting up whatever he'd eaten, or he'd feel like something was stuck in his throat and he'd force it out of there with his fingers. Metalicana noticed this, but he was too drunk to do much about it.

The house was a complete mess, with clutter just everywhere. They had the occasional mouse and it was incredibly dusty. The couch had holes and there were clothes scattered on the floor. There was a corner of empty beer bottles, where Metalicana would place them after he returned home from work.

"Work" being getting paid to mow lawns, or other general cheap community service. Metalicana work for a day, go to the bank and return home around five if he didn't stop to drink. When he doesn't find a job, he stays home waiting for Gajeel to return from school. Then, sometimes and usually without Gajeel being aware, he'd step out for a long time for drinks and maybe weed. Gajeel took the time to gather clothes off the floor and sweep up while he waited for his father to come back for dinner.

He came home around three in the morning the next day, stumbling in the door and clutching his arm as he writhed in pain. His face had bruises and he was growling loudly. Gajeel ran to his father's aid, only to be pushed away forcefully.

"You don't fucking touch me, ya' hear?"

"Sorry," Gajeel slowly stood back up, backing away and putting his hands up slightly, "Yo...old man, what's up-?"

"Shut the hell up!" He yelled pointing a glass shard at the boy, making him jump up. He realized he was cornered. Gajeel held his breath until Metalicana realized what he was doing and sent him back to bed. The steps creaked loudly as Gajeel slowly returned upstairs to his small room, keeping his eyes on the older man, who angrily threw the glass against the wall, shattering it.

Sometimes Gajeel would get hit, sometimes not, but he felt like it was worse when he'd just anticipated it, even though it doesn't happen. He'd felt his fears creeping up on him; hatred, abandonment. He returned upstairs to his bedroom not knowing what to do to help his father.

"Hey-what are you doing with my clothes?"

"Gaj…" Metalicana sighed as he sat up from the bag, walking towards him. He hugged Gajeel tight, the smell of alcohol still present, but he was sober.

"I can' do this anymore, kid,"

"I ain't a kid, old man, so what the hell 're ya' doing with my clothes?"

He sighed again. After years, Metalicana decided to have Gajeel move out. While Gajeel had been working very hard to cater to his father and deal with his issues, Metalicana couldn't watch him face hell for it. Gajeel was of age, and he decided it would be okay to finally have him move out. He told this to him, which ended up upsetting him.

"For what!?" Gajeel yelled, "I ain't got a place to go!"

"You do...I found a place for you."

"Fuck that! Man, I still- I need- I can't take care of myself yet!"

"Yes, you can."

"Since when!?"

"Gaj," Metalicana knelt down, pulling Gajeel with him, "You've been...I may have raised you, but dammit, you've been taking care of me for years. You've been putting up with my shit for too long."

"...So what…?"

"Listen, I've got you a place, okay? Roommate and all, and it's really nice; out of the city, around this market block just a few minutes away, you ain't even gotta take an hour to get there," he sat upright, still holding Gajeel's arms, "There's an open bedroom for you, and the guy knows you're coming, alright? ...I swear it'll be better for the both of us...okay?"

"..."

Metalicana slouched back again to meet Gajeel's forehead. He's still young, he knew, but what else could he do for him? "You'll be fine, a'ight?" He wrapped his arms around him. Gajeel rested his head on his father's shoulder. He let his own hair fall in front of his face.

"I...need a job," Gajeel muttered.

"There's some open spots, plenty of 'em."

"You seen 'em?"

"That's where I went the other day."

"...You said you went to a bar."

"'I said' dun' mean that 'I mean', Gaj," Metalicana moved to look his son in the eye, "I'll send you out this weekend, give you the money you need to get there, and I'll get your prescription refilled; after that it's up to you. You can handle that?"

Gajeel nodded before he was hugged again.

He sat up from the bed and reached under the mattress for the empty pill bottle. Gajeel had to tell him eventually. He wanted to grow the fuck up and do shit for himself. Especially now that he was working, too. Gajeel stepped out of the room to see Bixlow in the kitchen.

"Hmm?" Bixlow said with a ham sandwich in his mouth, "You ain't workin' today, huh?"

"...no…" Gajeel responded, "I...I take it that you always do this?"

"Hmm," Bixlow nodded, "The lady went out to visit her sister," He stopped to swallow, "...while she was doing photoshoots-she's outta state."

"Okay…" Gajeel said, sitting on the couch awkwardly.

"What'chu up to, baby?"

"Don't you call your girlfriend baby?"

"...Oh, I mean, yeah, but, I guess that's just a thing."

"Ah, well then, nothin'."

"Mmm," Bixlow took another large bite out of the sandwich. He motioned back to the fridge, offering to make him food, but Gajeel hesitantly declined. Regardless, Bixlow prepared a sandwich for him. Gajeel accepted it. They spent an hour sitting on the couch and watching TV, waiting for Laxus to return.

"Do I seem in the way?"

"What?" Bixlow was shocked to hear Gajeel ask such a question, "What do ya' mean, kid?"

"I mean...I mean that Laxus-this whole time he's been just-he's been spending stuff on me! Like, he buys my clothes and pays my meds and shit! Like...I appreciate it n' all, but...I feel like...I feel like I'm asking for too much."

"He's your sugar daddy."

Gajeel gripped onto the throw pillow beside him, wanting to throw it at him. Bixlow laughed aloud.

"Nah, Laxus doesn't care," Bixlow said, "Hell no, beside, he loves ya! You gotta quit worryin'," he playfully punched the other's arm. Gajeel sighed.

"I know, I know, I get it, he told me, but…"

"Look, if you wanna do stuff for yourself, then you do it, but...you already know that Laxus can help you if you can't help yourself, right?"

"I guess."

"Mmm," Bixlow finished off his sandwich, "You don't use him, which is good, it's great. But I don't wanna hafta' see you hurt again. It's not like ya', baby."

Gajeel tilted his head. They were silent again. After making himself another sandwich, Bixlow left, leaving Gajeel to wait for Laxus by himself. He clutched onto the empty pill bottle, still contemplating on what he should do with it. He stuffed it back under the mattress and chose to wait this one out.

Laxus came home a few hours later to Gajeel grabbing a drink in the kitchen, "Oi," he greeted, "Don't you drink all the beer."

"Mnn," Gajeel grumbled walking over towards Laxus. Part of Gajeel's shirt was stuffed into his pants and his hair looked really tangled.

"You're a mess," Laxus said, fixing the other's shirt, "You should've seen it, Juvs just cursed Natsu out today."

"Wha…? Why?"

"Well for starters, he's a dumbass, it's not like anyone can blame her. But today-oh man-Cana stumbled into the kitchen and he spilt some grease on 'er leg. Man, Juvia was pretty fuckin' pissed."

Gajeel stared in awe, "That doesn't sound like raindrop," he muttered, "She see something with Cana?"

"I mean, I wouldn't doubt it," Laxus said, sighing and letting himself fall on the couch, "Cana's been a flirt to her specifically, and it's not like Juvia makes her stop, so, sure."

"Huh," Gajeel sat beside Laxus, propping his legs on the other's lap. Laxus leaned in to pull Gajeel atop his lap and kissed him as Gajeel wrapped his arms around him.

"I can tell you've been waitin' for me, ah?"

"Stuff it," Gajeel said through his teeth before kissing Laxus' neck.

"This is new," Laxus said as Gajeel's lips tickled at his neck, "You've never been the one to do this, Gajeel."

"Eh," Gajeel sat up, "Maybe I just wanna see how ya' taste."

"You're bein' a flirt now, or are ya' just that drunk?"

"Yes," Gajeel stood up, "I'm gonna shower."

"I might join you, then."

"You're gonna join me?"

"Sure," Laxus stood, "I mean, it's worth a shot for sure-unless you wanna keep it casual this time?"

"...Ah-nah, nah, keep going."

Laxus grinned as he followed Gajeel to the bathroom. He sat on the toilet with the lid still shut, and watched Gajeel as he removed his top, pushing hair from his face. "...you want that in the shower or now?"

"There's more room here, now."

Nodding, Gajeel nodded and sat on his knees between his legs. He unzipped Laxus' pants and rubbed his clothed cock until he felt it harden. Laxus was already holding onto Gajeel's hair, ready to push his own cock down his throat. Gajeel pulled out Laxus' cock and began kissing the tip, all the way down to his balls, until he was pulled back up to suck.

"You're in a hurry," Gajeel complained.

"Hell yeah," Laxus responded, "I want you to suck me off," he then whispered, "Hard and all the way down...and then I'm gonna fuck you so hard you ain't gonna feel your ass tomorrow, you hear me?"

Gajeel stared at him, and nodded, blushing. He knelt back down to place the tip in his mouth, licking it until he was pushed further down by Laxus. Gajeel gripped his hands on Laxus' thighs as he sucked deeper, as deep as Laxus pulled him. His hair was being pulled on and his head was bobbing up and down as he pleasured Laxus. When Laxus released him to breathe, Gajeel moaned, gasping.

"So damn rough…"

"I'm not done with you, Gajeel."

"Oh sure you're not," Gajeel said as he was pushed back down again, Laxus holding a tighter grip on his hair, "Easy on the hair."

"Just keep going."

Gajeel did. He was pushed all the way down and he swallowed, gagging before he was pulled back up again. He inhaled and was pushed back down. Laxus moved his head up and down over and over. Laxus groaned as he felt Gajeel's wet mouth all over his hardened member, finally holding him down still. He caressed Gajeel's cheek while he held him down, still thrusting in his mouth himself, before he released him. Gajeel coughed.

"You've gotta let me breathe more!"

"Pssh," Laxus pulled him into the shower, undressing himself and stepping in with him. He turned on the shower head and turned to kiss the other. Gajeel leaned against the wall, letting laxus pin his arms back as his neck was nipped at.

"Ah...ah…"

"I think you taste better, Gajeel…"

"Mmm…" Gajeel moaned as Laxus moved to his hardening nipples. He kissed and licked at them, playing with them with his fingers. Laxus moved back up to turn Gajeel around. Gajeel pressed his hands against the tiled wall as he felt his entrance being rubbed by Laxus' hard cock.

"Mm-ah-Laxus…"

"You want it, Gajeel?" Laxus asked, "Tell me you want it."

"I w- I want it," Gajeel hesitantly said. Laxus put the tip inside of Gajeel.

"Who do you want, Gajeel?"

"Ah- I-I want you, L-Laxus," Gajeel stuttered, shivering as the pleasure intensified when Laxus pushed inside of him. He began thrusting slowly, before picking up speed and moaning himself.

"Mnn, Gajeel…"

"La- Ah! Laxus-fuck!"

Gajeel turned his face to the side, and Laxus grinned at the sight of Gajeel moaning loudly as he was being fucked. He thrusted harder and deeper into Gajeel, making his yelps louder. He pounded against him, throwing his head back as he did. Their hot bodies were soaking in the even hotter water.

"Ah! A-agh! Mmm!" Gajeel loudly moaned. Laxus reached for the other's cock and stroked it as he thrusted. Gajeel was gasping for air as he yelled out.

"Laxus-I-I-fuck!"

"Shit-Gajeel-!"

They finished. Laxus and Gajeel stood still in the shower, letting the warm water fall onto their bodies, washing off Gajeel's cum. Gajeel could feel Laxus finish inside of him, making him tremble. Laxus pulled Gajeel upright and grabbed a soap bar. "I'm off tomorrow," He said as he lathered the soap onto the other, "You wanna do somethin'?"

"I ain't got plans…" Gajeel said, sleepily, "...why?"

"Neither do I."


End file.
